Fun and Mental Changes

I am not the person ANYONE would describe as "green", however, I am trying to get there. I've started with small changes like recycling plastic and paper trash, using reusable cloth bags to haul groceries home and observing Earth Day by shutting off all my lights and electronics that use electricity... all to help this planet. And while I'm not as amazing as the couple that reduced their trash to nothing for one full year, the small changes that I have made a part of day to day life gives me that warm and fuzzy feeling that I'm doing my part! :) So, recycling wasn't too terribly difficult to create into a habit since the city I live in provides me with a recycling dumpster to fill that gets picked up once a week. Had that not been the case, that "green" change might have taken me a little longer to perfect. Earth Day: Just a super fun hour of peace, quiet and candle light! The cloth bags have been another animal all together. I found the most AMAZIN...

Balance is a word that I removed from my vocabulary some time ago when I attended a Quantum Physics seminar. Due to the state of "non-movement" when something is "balanced", I happily opt for... harmony (and come on! Musically/poetically speaking, harmony sounds better anyway) because I'm not in any rush to be in a state of non-movement. For me, the project started with my diet. I have honestly found that harmony is easier to find when I've completed the Master Cleanse . I read Stanley Burroughs' book, The Master Cleanser, paying attention to his thoughts on what he believes the human diet should be for optimum health. Could there REALLY be a correlation between the food we eat and our mental health? Absolutely!!! Feeling tired and dragged down effects everything in your life. If you too want harmony in your life you might want to give a little internal "house cleaning" a try and see how you feel. Certainly, clear it with your doctor first, but...

Welp... I'm on vacation. I alotted 3 days to be bad and eat whatever I want. Boy did I ever! Yuck! I feel nasty, and bloated and just generally "out of whack"! So today will be a light eating day. Oh how I wish I would have just gotten the supplies I needed to do The Master Cleanse ... Damage control: Healthy Pizza (it's what's for dinner! LOL!) 2 cloves garlic 1/4 C. of olive oil Blend until smooth in the Magic Bullet. Expect to have some left over to store for future pizzas. 2 Mission Carb Balance tortilla shells (I use 2 small, but you can use 1 large) Thinly sliced mushrooms Thinly chopped bell peppers (all colors) Diced onion Thinly sliced zucchini Diced Cabbage (any color) Non Fat Mozorella cheese Any other vegetable that you prefer sliced thin... make sure not to use veggies that are too wet, as that will keep the tortilla from crisping. And be sure that you don't overload the tortilla, or you might have a hard time picking it up to eat... remember... ...

So, I've found some new fun in fitness.... the Wii! First of all, let me start by saying that when you change your lifestyle from sedentary to active, it is important to incorporate changes that will stick. And for me... this Wii will be sticking around for quite some time! The fact that this video game is played by your body movements alone should be winning the Pulitzer Prize for turning around the obesity epidemic in this country by introducing physical activity BACK into our kids lives! Whew! That was a super run on sentence! hahahaha! Earlier this week I got the balance board for the Wii. It included a game called Wii Fit. I have read quite a few reviews on the Wii Fit complaining that it doesn't include full exercise segments. In my opinion this game is lacking nothing because it is simply introducing fun exercise into our inactive lives and into our child's life . In a day and age when kids are typically found on their bottoms in front of a video game, eyes seemingly...

OK gang! I have not run away or fallen off the earth, I've been taking a little break. I've been out in the forest getting in touch with my inner nature girl. And BOY have I been roughing it! I already broke a nail, and there is not a lick of cuticle cream in sight! All kidding aside, this particular trip out of the heat reminds me how important hydration really is! In the cooler climates we sometimes forget to drink our water. This is probably the single most important nail growth tip that I have learned over the past 8 months.... dehydration=broken nails. It's as simple as that!... I have also noticed that my breathing has been shallow, and for how long, I don't know. I do know that it's been a while. But now I'm out in the forest, it's been raining the past couple of days, and the earthy smell is HEAVEN! I am really breathing it in.... and I'm noticing that I've been missing those deep breaths. The strong, invigorating breaths that only come from ...

This is my product review for an acrylic dip nail kit that I bought at Sally's Beauty Supply. I wasn't necessarily looking to do my own acrylic nails, but while shopping for a new nail file, I came across this kit and it seemed too good to be true. Here is what the kit looks like: The directions were VERY easy to understand and the process was pretty simple as well, but I found that there were a couple of items that were not included in the kit that (thankfully) I had.... because they were needed! The items that I used that were not included are shown here to the left of the kit. I used the yellow buffer block for two things. First, to remove the shine from my nail before I started and to buff the finished acrylic nail when I was done. The included nail file is just entirely too course to use on my real nail before gluing the french white tip on. I tried it and the included file really tore up my nail. And being that it is the only file that comes with the kit, it's also to...

Wow! It's been a while since my last healthy recipe post. That speaks volumes on how I've been eating lately! Well, I put my nose back to the grindstone and I'm back with a healthy vengeance! :) This is my healthy Sweet & Spicy Chicken with Whole Wheat Pasta Salad. This turned out SOOOO much better than I expected. I hope everyone here loves it as much as I did. Sweet & Spicy Chicken w/Whole Wheat Pasta Salad 4 Boneless, skinless chicken breast 1/2 C. Whole Wheat Pastry Flour 2 tsp sea salt 1 tsp black pepper 2 tsp organic cayenne pepper 1 pinch of crushed red peppers (if you're sensitive to spice, you should omit) 2 tsp dried parsley flakes 1 Tbsp dried onion flakes Olive oil spray 2 egg whites 1 tsp water 4 Tbsp low calorie Sweet and Sour Sauce Preheat oven to 365 degrees. In a flat dish combine dry ingredients and blend together with a fork. Create egg wash by whisking egg whites and water together. Dip a piece of chicken into the egg wash. Remove from egg w...

I have had great success losing weight and getting my health back. This post is really only one key, but I've found that for me it is the most important! Journaling: The Master Plan and it works! I have put it to the test! When I skip journaling my workouts and food intake,and skip planning my days ahead of time, I spend the day fighting urges and eating without thinking. That mindless eating we all know and love (not so much). There's something about just knowing you have a plan and are accountable to it that makes sticking to it so much easier. And in the rare occurrence that I slip and miss a meal or give in to the urge to eat those dang cupcakes that Judy brought in to work today (there's a "Judy" where ever we work, isn't there?), I don't need to panic because there's a plan of action that I have set in place the night before to give me the structure to get back on track. I will share with you the tools I use for planning at the end of this post. ...

This is an excerpt (pg. 233) from Raw Food, Real World by Matthew Kenny and Sarma Melngailis. It is an amazing recipe book, but beyond that, it is filled with incredible "health" tips. Cutting Out Coffee It might be hard to picture beginning a morning or ending an evening meal without coffee. As a beverage, it really isn't that old: coffee was only first embraced in the thirteenth century by somnolent Arab monks who couldn't keep their minds on their prayers. From there, it was introduced to Europeans in the seventeenth century. Despite its common acceptance in our lives, coffee--and the caffeine it contains--might just be one of the biggest threats to our continued good health, both physical and mental.Stephen Cherniske, in his seminal book Caffeine Blues, calls caffeine a "biological poison used by plants as a pesticide," noting that "caffeine gives leaves and seeds a bitter taste, which discourages their consumption by insects and animals. If predato...

Here's a little sumin, sumin in honor of hump day (yay!)... here's a little nail candy for you! All I have to say about this is WOW! OBVIOUSLY this is Konad stamp. I used this very stamp here , but this color combination really, uh... pops? It was really fun, but I'm not convinced I can pull it off in public. I wore this to my gym and my Konadicure certainly drew attention. As soon as I got home, I took it off. It is soooo too bright for my taste. BUT if you are the type of person who LOVES bright polish, then this one is definitely for you! LOL! I used Color Club Yelloh with Konad special polish in green and Konad plate #M65. As always, you can get 20% off all Konad products at http://store.ocnailart.com/ using discount code "MENTAL" with free shipping on all orders over $20. I hope you have fun with this one... I did (very, very briefly! hahahaha)!

Ok , it IS that I'm lazy! I paid for a service to send out cards. I've always thought it was important to connect with people in a real way, but I'm also TERRIBLE about getting to the store to pick a card. And since I can usually be found in close proximity to my computer, it just made complete sense that a service that allowed me to "order" a single card or even a multitude of cards was going to save me a ton of time. Surprisingly , I found out that it saved me some money; not a lot, but it does save me some. My biggest thrill is the time savings. And on top of NOT having to go to the store and sort through a TON of card options ranging in price from $.99 to $6, I can also have gifts or gift cards attached to the card I'm sending, again.... without leaving the comfort of my home office. AND I can even schedule my cards to send on future dates. Yah , this service just gets better and better. So much better that I have now decided to be an affiliate. So, if yo...

I am currently reading a book that I absolutely MUST share! The book is called Fitness and Weight Management Plan and it is just about THE best book that I've read on the subject. The author is Gary Heavin (founder and CEO of Curves International, Inc.)... yes, the 'Curves for Women' guy!!! Now I wouldn't normally bump into a book like this, well, because I don't work out at Curves and because this book is not in book stores, but I have a dear friend who DOES work out at Curves and recommended the book to me. So off I went in search of my nearest Curves and boy am I glad I did! I HIGHLY recommend you pick up a copy for yourself. Mine cost right around $8. The book starts out with a description of the Curves workout, which is good information for anyone looking to join Curves, but I skipped that part and started with the section titled Embracing Change. If you don't get this amazing informative book for anything else... get it for THIS SECTION! I have never read ...

With all of the miracle nail treatments on the market today to help your nails grow long and strong, you might be surprised that there are some super cheap tips that will actually get you further. Apply these tips with your favorite miracle nail treatment and prepare for your nails to 'take off'! The first is, believe it or not, water. While the experts will tell you not to soak your nails, water is actually necessary for nail growth. Not soaking them of course, but drinking plenty of water every day. The more hydrated you are, the more chip resistant your nails will be. The next item in my arsenal is exercise. Yep, exercise will help those digits look amazing because good circulation stimulates nail growth. Finally, vitamins! I take a multi-vitamin every day... it's no secret that pregnant women taking prenatal vitamins have super long and super strong nails. Well, just some quick tips for today... hope they help everyone out there as much as they help me! ** Pictured: Kon...

When I first started working out, it seemed so hard to me. I remember quite clearly how awkward everything felt. The simplest things that always came so natural as a child was suddenly strained and difficult... even breathing during exercise seemed labored and unnatural. I live pretty close to a park and took a walk the other day stopping to watch some kids play. In the few minutes I watched these kids, I noticed some pretty amazing things that shed some light on my own workouts. The first thing I noticed was how happy they looked. It hit me that I feel that way now when I exercise, but when I first started I complained... A LOT and had very little structure, no plan and very little enjoyment! The second thing I noticed was that when they ran, it was 'all out'. When children run, it's in short bursts and sometimes (seemingly) for no reason at all. And finally, I noticed that when they are playing hard their breathing seems normal. Certainly they are breathing heavy, but th...

This post is super short, but I believe that it is THE MOST important post I have added to date. PLEASE watch I believe it is PAST time to take it back! URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeYscnFpEyA Here is the list of state NON REPRESENTING representatives in AZ: http://www.azdopcampaign.org/html/congress_address.html ! Arizonans, to send the tea bags requires 10 bags, 10 envelopes and 10 stamps... small price to save your country!!!

Some time ago I was catapulted into caring for my own nails! I know that some of you can relate; with the extreme turn in the economy I just couldn't afford to pay to get my nails done professionally. But that also resulted in having to remove the fake nails that I had filled and refilled for the past nine years... YIKES. My nails were in a terrible state and I did quite a bit of research into "nail repair" products. I started with nail strengtheners. NOPE, that didn't work. Now instead of weak, tearing nails, I was left with super brittle nails that almost seemed to shatter with the slightest bump. I then turned to nail fortifiers that kind of worked but also seemed to peel off my nails in a hurry. Finally I found Nail-Aid ! These products ROCK! Unlike any other products I've found these products come with a 30 day, 100% satisfaction guaranty. At a price of $6.50/bottle and free shipping with the purchase of two or more bottles, the price rocks too! On top of tha...

Ok... so I've been using the Qtica Nail Growth Stimulator for two weeks. The product information touted that it was supposed to stimulate up to 1/4 inch nail growth. I'm not positive that I got a quarter of an inch growth, but I did get marked growth and my nails appeared strong. I used it alone and also wore it as a base coat. Now.... Why, oh why, must I ALWAYS be in search of something better?!? I spent $20 on .5 fluid ounces of this clear nail growth stimulator hoping that it would be better than the VERY BEST nail growth stimulator I have ever used that was a fraction of the price... NAIL-AID . This $20 bottle of Qtica Nail Growth Stimulator gave me only part of the results that I get when I use my Nail-Aid Pink Natural Growth Therapy that I buy for $6.50 which is also .5 fluid ounces as well. AND Nail-Aid's growth therapy is a sweet clear pink that brightens my nails too. I should have just stayed with what I know works and saved my money. I REALLY should be doing a Na...

Happy 4th of July to all of my American readers!!! Well, I don't have anything planned for this holiday weekend other than hanging out at home and bbq-ing if the weather permits. I can always see the wonderful fireworks from my front yard, although I'm thinking (a little too late) that a block party might have been a ton of fun. Oh well! I am excited to share some fun Fourth of July Konad nail art designs with you. I also wanted to feature the GORGEOUS holiday nail art of my new friend Vanessa over at Casual Lavish ! If you haven't seen her blog yet, you DON'T want to miss it. Her tutorials on nail stamping rock! What am I saying!?! Her entire beauty blog rocks! LOL! I wanna be like her when I grow up. I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday weekend! *** Konad plate for picture on the left is M45 and the pic on the right is M44. In the left pic I used a peach tinted clear for a base and on the the right a pink tinted clear. Both konadicures were done with China...

A few years back I received a Creative Zen Micro Photo for Christmas. It was wonderful! The fact that I could finally carry around all my music in a super small (or I thought at the time)2.25" x 3.5" music player was sheer freedom from carrying around that old, large, portable cd player and I won't even go into the tons of music cds that also had to go along for the ride. Ok... so I'll mention them briefly, hahahahaha! And I was also surprised by how much lighter this music player was. At 5.5 oz., wearing it fashionably on an armstrap to the gym put me in the leagues with the top fitness buffs. Then something shifted... I was no longer hip, or in, or cool anymore. Suddenly everything shrunk and my music player was now a gigantic dinosaur! What the heck?!? Now everyone was sporting music players that were as big as the face of a watch and were a million times lighter than mine. All of a sudden I was back in the 7th grade trying to convince my mom to buy me the latest ...

For quite some time I've been using various nail art paints for my nail stamper. They were cheap and worked pretty well for my nail art, but I just found a brand that I LOVE!!! While Color Club (we all know and love them!) has an amazing line of nail polishes that are full of pigment and opacity, they also have a line of nail art paints that are just as wonderful and has brought the fun of nail stamping to a whole new level for me! So, what you see in the pic is OPI's Chapel of Love which is a GORGEOUS orangy-pink... almost a salmon and a little shimmery; two coats covered perfectly (you can click on the pic to enlarge). I then took Color Club's Art Club nail art paint in satin silver and painted random lines and squiggles. The brush is super, pin-stripe thin so it was really easy to do. I let it set up for about a minute and then stamped a beautiful asian symbol from Konad's image plate S4 with the Konad special polish in black. I added three little dots using the co...

I have never really thought of myself as a movie or dvd collector until one day I woke up and had over 250 movies (in their cases) that needed a home. Those dvds sure do take up a lot of space! Well, because I'm always looking for ways to utilize verticle space (meaning that I love to put everything up on walls) I decided that it was time to invest in a dvd storage tower. "How many does the tower hold?" I couldn't find a single one that held more than 200 dvds and I certainly didn't want to line my walls with dvd towers. Enter the Discgear Auto Select 100! This little baby is somethin!!! It's about as big as a loaf of bread and holds 100 dvds. Each dvd is assigned a number that corresponds to the 'on board' catalog so you can always find what you are looking for in seconds. This magical invention has saved me so much time and so much space... I now own 8 that organizes all my computer programs, music cds, audio books and of course... movies! Oh, but w...