In school you’re taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson.
If you have learned to disagree without being disagreeable, then you have discovered the secret to getting along – whether it be business, family relations or life itself – Bernard Meltzer
A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked.
You can hardly grocery shop without being bombarded by products promising you more vitamins, more fiber, more nutrients, more everything. Almost half of all new items that make their way to store shelves carry at least one health claim on their packaging. Below is a listing of reality-check lingo so you know exactly what you’re getting from your favourite foods.
Claim: with Omega-3s
Truth: don’t get too excited as heart-healthy omega-3s get top billing on everything from peanut butter to milk and breads. Some products contain only 32 milligrams of the healthy fat per serving – one tenth the amount in a half ounce of salmon. You’re better off following the American Heart Association’s guidelines, which recommend eating at least two weekly servings (3.5 ounces cooked) of fatty fish like salmon or trout to get the most omega-3s in your diet.
Claim: Good source of Antioxidants
Truth: Packaged foods need to contain only 10 percent of your daily intake of antioxidants, like vitamin A, C, and E, to be considered a “good source,” according to the Food and Drug Aministration. Instead, consume a full spectrum of antioxidants from natural sources like fruits and vegetables. One small carrot, for example, provides more than twice the amount of Vitamin A than a full serving of one antioxidant-enriched cereal does. Aim for four servings of fresh fruits and five servings of veggies per day – the more colourful they are, the higher the antioxidant levels.
Claim: High in Fiber
Truth: Some loaves of bread, energy bars, and even waffles can deliver up to 35 percent of your daily fiber requirement per serving, but much of the added fiber can be man-made or extracted from plants. And while studies have shown that a high-fiber diet may reduce the risk of heart disease, the research applies to naturally occurring fiber. To meet your daily needs, stick to natural sources like bran, oats, berries, and broccoli.
Claim: Made with Whole Grains
Truth: Crackers, breads, and cereals that carry this promise must offer some whole grains (higher in fiber, vitamins, and minerals than their refined counterparts), but companies aren’t obligated to disclose the actual amount, and there’s no required minimum. In fact, one popular brand of “whole-wheat” crackers contains a measly five grams of whole grains per serving – 1/16 of your recommended daily intake. Avoid confusion in the bread aisle by choosing foods that say they’re “100 percent whole grain” – that label ensures that the product contains no refined flours.
Yes, this makes perfect sense. Why would you want to do otherwise? I just came across a blog post written by a passionate couple (and admirers of the human spirit) about the habits of highly successful people of which this was one of them. Marc and Angel Chernoff enjoy sharing inspirational advice and practical tips for life on their popular personal development blog, “Marc and Angel Hack Life.” Currently the site contains over 600 articles on happiness, productivity, emotional intelligence, relationships, and general self-improvement, and has attracted over 100 million page views since its inception in 2006. This goes to show that many people are still searching not me of course for ways to increase their personal overall significance in life. This is taken from their blog and I think we can all agree:
You are the average of the people you spend the most time with. And that’s why it’s not always where you are in life, but who you have by your side that matters most. Some people drain you and others provide soul food. So be sure to get in the company of those who feed your spirit, and give the gift of your absence to those who do not appreciate your presence. There’s no need to rush into a relationship you are unsure of, or socialize with those who hold you back.
Spend more time with nice people who are smart, driven and open-minded about personal growth and opportunity. Use websites like “meetup.com” to search for local community groups of people with similar passions and goals. These people are out there – I know because I see they even have a happy hour meetup which would be perfect for me!
But seriously, the bottom line is that relationships should help you, not hurt you. Surround yourself with people who reflect the person you want to be. Choose friends who you are proud to know, people you admire, people who care about you and respect you – people who make your day a little brighter simply by being in it. Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the energy and hope out of you.
Hope you have a nice and relaxing weekend. As for me, I’m trying to be more successful so later on I’ll be off to meet some happy people over happy hour. Cheers!
As in sports, if you want to improve your game play with people who are better than you.
Some things are just better bigger – this is one of them. Product Review:
I’m in bliss…literally. Being a huge fan of luxurious body butters and body lotions by bliss you can imagine my delight at finding a super sized version in vanilla and bergamot – two of my favourite scents.
Already familiar with their original lemon sage (which gained a huge following as it was the #1 body cream for over a decade and used to be available only at Blissspa locations) this was a delightful purchase from Nordstrom’s. It’s completely moisturizing with a very familiar & pleasant fragrance(this aromatic moisture mix has amber, lemon, bergamot, myrrh and musk, putting the ‘thrilla’ back in vanilla) which means it can be used in place of a light fragrance. Made without parabens. I found that mixing this with a little bit of lavender lotion creates a signature scent.
Trending Now or you could say “finally” as it only takes a matter of time for what has
Bustier – Emilio Pucci S/S 2014
been in fashion somewhere in the world for centuries to make its way over to this hemisphere.
Masai Handiwork
On this side of the globe Masai and other African fabrics are having a fashion moment, but maybe it will last longer than a Paris or New York Minute.
Emilio Pucci Spring/Summer 2014
Last week I posted about wearing beads and shells in “going global” but this is different. Summer weather always brings out a certain amount of shell and beaded belongings but mostly in shoes and other accessories. I bought a t-shirt with a shelled collar that was not the norm a few years ago. But now the Spring/Summer runways were featuring traditional “Masai” fashion incorporated into daily wear like dresses, skirts, jackets and even a bustier as seen at on the Emilio Pucci S/S runway (photo above). And why not? Not only is it fun and colorful, but it has a rich history behind it. So along with fringe, art prints and florals, the shows featured Masai embellished beading for all kinds of clothing along with other African prints.
I bought several pairs of these leather/beaded sandals in Tanzania – all one of a kind.
Some History: The Masai have been creating bead jewelry for a long time, well before their first contact with Europeans. Beadwork has been an important part of Masai culture for many years. The women set aside time every day to meet and work on beaded jewelry which includes colorful necklaces, bracelets, and pendants. It is considered the duty of every Masai women to learn the jewelry making craft. All the tribes beadwork is made by the women but is worn by both women and men. The jewelry they create is not only beautiful but also has important cultural significance. The beadwork an individual wears will signify their age and social status. Generally individuals of high social standing will wear more colorful and intricate jewelry. Beads also serve as an important source of income for the Masai. Tourist visiting the Masai regions in Kenya and northern Tanzania will find many beautiful pieces for sale that make great gifts for both women and men.
A beaded clutch
These are a few examples of how beading was incorporated into the shows. Keep in mind these are obviously over the top. I can’t see anyone in my city dressing this way unless they put beading on fleece. I would carry the clutch bag, wear a wide beaded belt, sandals and some beading here and there on clothing but certainly not all together and not to excess.
Louis Vuitton‘s take on the traditional Masai blanket.
Salts, Herbs & Spice make everything Nice. There’s nothing confusing about infusing. These do-it-yourself finishing salts are not only great to have on hand for everyday meals but they also make an excellent hostess gift. Find a nice little container to put them in (as shown), tie a bow or ribbon & voila! They’re not fussy and you can tweak them to your liking.
lavender
For instance, I dry fresh lavender flowers, grind them (in a coffee grinder used specifically for purposes other than grinding coffee) and then put them into a container (I keep several clean empty ones on hand for this purpose ) with either course Himalayan pink salt or kosher salt for a nice flavor to add to pork roasts or potatoes. Add rosemary, thyme & oregano leaves for Sel-de-Provence.
Malt Vinegar – tastes better than it looks
This simple malt-vinegarsalt takes a few minutes of work to yield a summer’s worth of pub-fries type seasoning. In addition to chips (or any kind of potato dish), you can use it on shellfish or fried fish. Try it on popcorn too. I like to thinly slice Yukon gold potatoes & bake them at 375 F until done with a bit of olive oil & this salt sprinkled over them – tastes like a day at the beach.
6 Tbsp. of course salt
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
¼ cup malt vinegar
Stir all ingredients together until a loose paste forms. Pour onto a rimmed baking sheet & spread into a thin layer. Let stand at room temperature, uncovered for a day or two. The paste will dry into a hard, cohesive sheet.
Rake and mash sheet with a fork until it develops into the texture of course salt. Transfer to a container with a tight-fitting lid and store in a cool, dry place up to 3 months (that is, if it lasts that long).
Citrus Salt:
This will add a bright finish to curries, soups and stews – you can even sprinkle it on banana bread.
Preheat oven to 300 F. In a medium bowl, mix ½ cup of flaky sea salt with 1 Tbsp. of grapefruit zest, 2 tsp. orange zest, and 1 tsp. lemonzest, working zest into salt to eliminate clumps. Add ½ tsp. ground fennel seed, and spread across a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until zest is dried out, about 15 minutes (it should crumble when pinched). Let cool, then store in an airtight jar up to 2-3 months. Makes ¾ cup.
Herbs de Provence
Herbs de Provence
The flavor is amazing here. Delicious sprinkled on salads, soups, fish, chicken, beef and pork. Did I miss anything?
2 Tbsp. dried rosemary
1 Tbsp. fennel Seed
2 Tbsp. dried lavender flowers
2 Tbsp. dried Italian Parsley
2 Tbsp. Dried Savory
2 Tbsp. Dried Thyme
2 Tbsp. Dried Basil
2 Tbsp. Dried Marjoram
Grind rosemary & fennel seed in a spice grinder (which could be a second coffee grinder); transfer to a mixing bowl. Stir savory, thyme, basil, marjoram, lavender, parsley, oregano & tarragon with the rosemary mixture. Store in an air-tight container between uses. Makes 1 cup.
Small size jam jars are perfect for this.
Flower Pepper (okay, I had a lot of flowers last summer – here’s a way to make them last all year long).
Aromatic Flower Pepper
Mix black peppercorns with dried rose petals and lavender (or other edible flowers like Calendula) for a colorful mix of flavor. Use it with salads, eggs, fish, meat, chicken or pasta dishes – pretty much everything.
The added touch: for a more personalized feel you can create your own label to stick on the lid of any jar. The receiver will remember who it came from and what exactly is inside.
Note: Sufferers of asthma, ragweed, and hayfever should not consume composite flowers, and may have extreme allergies to ingesting any flowers at all. Composite flowers consist of a family of plants with heads composed of many florets, including the aster; daisy; dandelion; goldenrod; marigold; lettuces; ragweed; sunflower; thistle; zinnia.
AVOID: some flowers in particular to be avoided (but not a complete list) are: azalea, crocus, daffodil, foxglove, oleander, rhododendron, jack-in-the-pulpit, lily of the valley, and wisteria.
Things you might not know about one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century:
(1869-1954)
Initially trained as a lawyer, Matisse developed an interest in art only at age twenty-one.
Along with those of Pablo Picasso, his stylistic innovations fundamentally altered the course of modern art and affected the art of several generations of younger painters.
The Fall of Icarus, 1943
In the summer of 1904, while visiting his artist friend Paul Signac at Saint-Tropez, a small fishing village in Provence, Matisse discovered the bright light of southern France, which contributed to a change to a much brighter palette.
Matisse’s career can be divided into several periods that changed stylistically, but his underlying aim always remained the same: to discover “the essential character of things” and to produce an art “of balance, purity, and serenity,” as he himself put it in his “Notes of a Painter” in 1908.
The Dessert: Harmony in Red
In the autumn of 1917, Matisse traveled to Nice in the south of France, and eventually settled there for the rest of his life. No wonder – it’s so nice in Nice.
In the late 1940’s, sufffering from ill health, Matisse retired his paintbrush. A spirit as creative as his, however, was not to be restrained.
The Snail
Until his death in 1954, the trailblazing colorist snipped and tore gouache-coated paper into graphic shapes that he assembled into vibrant compositions.
Debuting at London’s Tate Modern this spring, the exhibition “Henri Matisse: The Cut Outs” features some 120 of these works, from figurative pieces – botanical tableaux, nudes – to playful abstracts such as The Snail (shown), a nine-foot square 1953 masterpiece that is as striking today as ever.April 17 – September 7; tate.org.uk
Here are some okay lots of my favorite quotes from Comedian Chelsea Handler.
Disclaimer: If you’re not okay with politically incorrect maybe end it right here. I just saw her perform live in Seattle and while I don’t enjoy crudeness in general, when it comes from her it just seems so natural and acceptable and the lines become blurred between right and wrong.
It’s been my experience that people who make proclamations about themselves are usually the opposite of what they claim to be. If someone is truly a loyal friend, then they wouldn’t need to broadcast it; eventually, people will figure it out. I have a lot of good friends and not one of them has ever introduced themselves by saying, “I’m a very good friend.— Chelsea Handler
“I went to Africa because I wanted to know where rappers come from.” – Chelsea Handler, “Uganda be Kidding me.”
“I went out with a guy who once told me I didn’t need to drink to make myself more fun to be around. I told him, I’m drinking so that you’re more fun to be around.”
― Chelsea Handler, Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea
“Then a homeless man with a dog approached us and put his hand out. This happens to be something that I have a real problem with: homeless people with pets who approach you for food when they have a perfectly delicious dog standing right there?”
“I would rather sit next to a transgender person and discuss why every single one I’ve met smells like a bar in the daytime than listen to people tell my why I want to have children and that I just don’t know it yet. I do know, because I’m me and my feelings are the ones in my head. I don’t want to have kids, and it’s not a device to get attention or have conversations about it. I simply find children incredibly immature and, more often than not, dumb.”
Are you there vodka? It’s me, Chelsea. Please get me out of jail and I promise I will never drink again. Drink and drive. I will never drink and drive again. I may even start my own group fashioned after MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, but I’ll call it AWLTDASH, Alcoholics Who Like to Drink and Stay Home.”
“Obviously, if I was serious about having a relationship with some one long-term, the last people I would introduce him to would be my family.”
“My mother told me that life isn’t always about pleasing yourself and that sometimes you have to do things for the sole benefit of another human being. I completely agreed with her, but reminded her that that was what blow jobs were for.”
“You know you’re a hot mess when the only person buying you drinks all night is yourself.”
“My relationship with my father had been on the proverbial fritz since the time I was fifteen and called the police to report him for child molesting. He had never molested me, but I wanted to have a party that weekend and needed him out of the house.”
“I rolled over and picked up Us Weekly magazine off the floor. The cover had a picture of Angelina, Brad, and their little Eskimo son, Maddox. I sat staring at the photo, wondering why this little boy looks so pissed off in every picture.At first I thought he was just pissed about his Mohawk, but then I realized he’s probably furious. Maddox must have thought he hit the jackpot when some A-list celebrity rescued him from third-world Cambodia, only to discover that she was going to shuffle him back and forth to EVERY other third-world country in the universe. He’s probably like, ‘When the fuck are we gonna get to Malibu, bitch?”
“Our relationship finally ended when he took to waking me up in the wee hours o the morning when he would go surfing. He thought it might be fun to have me come watch. “Fun for who?” I wanted to ask. i had never asked him to come to Happy Hour and watch me drink.”
Your sense of humor is one of the most powerful tools you have to make certain that your daily mood and emotional state support good health.
Laughter makes you feel good. And the good feeling that you get when you laugh remains with you even after the laughter subsides. Humor helps you keep a positive, optimistic outlook through difficult situations, disappointments, and loss.
Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Humor lightens your burdens, inspires hopes, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert.
With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for surmounting problems, enhancing your relationships, and supporting both physical and emotional health.
Laughter is good for your HEALTH:
Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.
Laughter boosts the immune system.Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.
Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.
Laughter protects the heart.Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.
Best of all, this priceless medicine is fun, free, and easy to use
You’ve heard the saying….laughter is the best medicine.
When laughter is shared, it binds people together and increases happiness and intimacy. I hear that it can also stengthen your immune system – even if temporarily.
Last Sunday six people came over for Easter dinner. This tiny group included a good friend I’ve known for 25 years who is nearly finished going through chemo, and a beautiful young woman who was experiencing some physical pain from a recent operation & lengthy in-and-out of the hospital stay. One of the greatest compliments someone can say is “I’m in pain but I laughed so much I forgot all about it” (the complete opposite of “I laughed so hard it hurt”)…which made me question can laughter act as therapy? It can.
Of course you’d have to be non-stop funny to forget about pain all together but bursts of laughter here and there can really help. The credit for all this laughter belongs to my chemo going friend. She’s BIG, she’s BOLD & you BETTER WATCH OUT! I think she’ll recover very well. With her attitude and a few killer wigs – she won’t let anything or anyone stand in her way. Some people are just entertaining by nature.
I think this holds true for smiling (the beginning of laughter) and even faking happiness (which includes smiling) at trying times in your life. Even laughing at yourself is therapeutic in a funny kind of way. So when you encounter all those brooding mopey faced people on the streets just give them a big smile (because you can’t really laugh at a stranger) and watch what happens.
Here are a some of my favourite quotes on the subject:
The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter. – Mark Twain
Laughter is not at all a bad beginning for a friendship, and it is far the best ending for one. – Oscar Wilde
A sense of humor… is needed armor. Joy in one’s heart and some laughter on one’s lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life. – Hugh Sidey
You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything, even poverty, you can survive it. – Bill Cosby
itself – Bernard MeltzerYou can hardly grocery shop without being bombarded by products promising you more vitamins, more fiber, more nutrients, more everything. Almost half of all new items that make their way to store shelves carry at least one health claim on their packaging. Below is a listing of reality-check lingo so you know exactly what you’re getting from your favourite foods.
I just came across a blog post written by a passionate couple (and admirers of the human spirit) about the habits of highly successful people of which this was one of them. Marc and Angel Chernoff enjoy sharing inspirational advice and practical tips for life on their popular personal development blog, “Marc and Angel Hack Life.” Currently the site contains over 600 articles on happiness, productivity, emotional intelligence, relationships, and general self-improvement, and has attracted over 100 million page views since its inception in 2006. This goes to show that many people are still searching
You are the average of the people you spend the most time with. And that’s why it’s not always where you are in life, but who you have by your side that matters most. Some people drain you and others provide soul food. So be sure to get in the company of those who feed your spirit, and give the gift of your absence to those who do not appreciate your presence. There’s no need to rush into a relationship you are unsure of, or socialize with those who hold you back.
Being a huge fan of luxurious body butters and body lotions by bliss you can imagine my delight at finding a super sized version in vanilla and bergamot – two of my favourite scents.
These are a few examples of how beading was incorporated into the shows. Keep in mind these are obviously over the top. I can’t see anyone in my city dressing this way unless they put beading on fleece. I would carry the clutch bag, wear a wide beaded belt, sandals and some beading here and there on clothing but certainly not all together and not 
to excess. 
Citrus Salt:
Things you might not know about one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century:
April 17 – September 7; tate.org.uk
Here are some 
stengthen your immune system – even if temporarily.
You must be logged in to post a comment.