So, now you may be asking yourself, how do I accomplish this.  Where to start is simple, with the little things.  Take a little extra time to make sure you are showered everyday, clean, clean shaven, and smelling good.  Take a little more time to put on some makeup, style your hair differently, and dress nicely.  Even if the events in your day only include doing laundry, taking care or your kids, or doing the grocery shopping.  Caring for yourself, you will find will make your whole day go just a little differently.  Taking care of yourself and feeling good about your appearance, will make you more out going and more attractive to yourself and others.  You will have more confidence, and will also feel more energized.

Now, you may think that this sounds just a little too simple, but trust me, it really does work.  I am not a person who puts much emphasis on what is on the outside of people, but you will find that changing your outward appearance, will change things on the inside as well, so fake it until you make it.  Give this a try for a week, and you will see that outward beauty can lead to inward beauty.  What do you have to lose?

Now since Rosie has left, and Whoopi Goldberg has replaced her, Elisabeth is still arguing.  I can’t tell you how frustrated I get with her, because of the fact that she does not hold her beliefs strong enough.  I believe that when you hold your beliefs in a mature fashion that you can allow room for others to have differing beliefs without going over the top.  A reasonable debate about the issues is one thing.  Everyone should be allowed their point of view, however in this case Elisabeth can’t debate anything because in essence she just spouts the same things over and over again, without making them cohesive and it is my personal belief that she is very immature in her thoughts and actions.

I wish that the View would consider replacing her with someone who holds their point of view and can make an educated argument on the facts.  Listening to her spout the same pointless drivel over and over again, is enough to push me, and perhaps other viewers over the edge.  It is unfair to take an otherwise well spoken, well thought, group of women and throw this into the mix.  Barbara, hopefully you will hear the public and do something about this girl before she brings down your show.

Now I assure you that these parents are not telling their children to do these things, at least for the most part.  And I honestly think that in most cases if their parents found out how they were behaving, they would be appalled.  Yet, they are setting an example that well over-rides any of the words that they are using to teach their children how to behave.  This is the same reason that children who are overweight usually come from parents that are overweight.  Healthy eating habits are taught by example and not by telling someone to eat all their veggies.

Don’t get me wrong, I think that as parents we are well intentioned, but what we need to begin to realize is that who we are is in many ways who they are becoming, whether we like it or not.  So if you are looking for a good way to make some positive changes in your family, then look to yourself and start there first.  I think that what you will find is that once you have successfully made these changes for yourself, the family will follow suit.  What do you have to lose.  Making changes for the better, even if only for yourself, can only be a good thing, right?

For some reason, millions of women around the globe are suffering from abuse. Although not always of a physical nature this abuse is often inflicted upon them by the significant other, spouse, children and in many cases, even by themselves.  It is unclear as to why women put up with abuse, except that it is because of low self esteem.

I think that perhaps with the changing roles of women, we have started to feel more like work horses than like human beings and this change is being reflected in the abuse.  Almost like, we are used to being punished and so it seems to go right along with our self image to be abused.

This is a message to all the women who are suffering abuse, either at the hands of someone else or self induced.  You are a worthwhile person.  You do deserve everything in life that you dream of and more.  If you turn around your mind set, and believe with all your heart that you deserve happiness, it will come.  Don’t settle for anything less than the dream.  You deserve all that and more, so move away from the abuse and towards happiness.  It may feel a little off at first, but you can do it and you do deserve better than what you are allowing yourself to have.

One of the reasons for this is that women tend to suffer more mild symptoms when presenting with a heart attack than their male counterparts.  Instead of showing up with crushing chest pain, women are more likely to experience heart attack symptoms such as fatigue making a clear diagnosis by medical personel a bit more difficult.  And although this may be an excuse for some of the lack of action taken, in cases where the heart infarction can be detected by using an EEG, there is no excuse.

Another reason sited by doctors for the lack of response to women in cardiac crisis, is the fact that women having heart attacks tend to be in the later stages of their lives, where as men tend to have these issues much earlier in life, raising more red flags.

In any case, although the article did cover this issue, and sited the issues with women getting the proper diagnosis and treatment in the immediately following a severe heart attack, the medical response, was very unclear as to what if anything was the cause of the problem and what would be done to insure women getting more rapid treatment in the future.

I guess for now, it is more of a wait and see game.  However, keep in mind, if you are not feeling well, and are unclear why, don’t hesitate to call 911 and try to get help quickly.  It can make all the difference in the world.

New studies are showing that getting enough rest each day combined with a regular exercise routine may somehow decrease the chance of getting cancer, at least for women.

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute say that exercise can significantly reduce the risk of cancer among women, however that is not the only factor.

In a study, which was presented at a conference of the American Association for Cancer Research, McClain followed 5,968 women in Maryland, aged 18 and over, for about 10 years.

Findings suggest that women who reported getting about an hour a day of moderate physical activity — cancer was 47% rarer for those who got at least seven hours of nightly sleep. Thus, McClain and colleagues believe that physical activity and sleep play an important role in reducing cancer risk. Those findings held regardless of other cancer risk factors.

“We think it’s quite interesting and intriguing. It’s kind of a first look into this. It isn’t something that has been widely studied,” explained the study’s principal author, James McClain, a specialist in prevention, the National Cancer Institute, in United States.

In another study, however, there were findings that women who sleep less than 6 hours a night, may be significantly increasing their risk of certain cancers, especially breast cancer by more than 60%.

The body is designed to function at full speed during our waking hours and with all the stress in the average person’s life, it is more important than ever to make sure that we get enough exercise and sleep.  Sleep is the only down time that our bodies have, and our organs and our heart especially need this time to recoup from the day.  If we choose not to rest or sleep for an adequate amount of time, our organs to do get a chance to have that required rest. In the studies that are active at this time, researchers are finding that women that average less than seven hours of sleep a night are almost twice as likely to get cancer when compared to those women that are achieving a full eight hours of sleep each night. The exact reason the sleep and exercise combination is reducing cancer risks is unknown at this time.

No matter what, sleep and exercise are going to benefit both mind and body.

How can we stay feeling good about ourselves, when it seems that new lines and wrinkles are appearing daily? Well, personally I have found that taking some time to invest in some good makeup has helped.  No more is Cover Girl over the counter stuff going to hide the aging, so honestly it is time to start getting makeup that is geared towards older women.  Products made by Almay and Oil of Olay work really well to help hide some of those changes on your face.  It will cost you a little more than you are probably spending, but the confidence you will feel with a younger looking face is priceless.

You can also change your hair style.  Getting a new cut and a new color can help you create a whole new you.  Trying to wear the same hair style that you were sporting 20 years ago, probably won’t work and will just make you look out dated.

Same goes for clothing, wear clothes that flatter you, but don’t try to wear clothes that you wore when you were a teen.  Also, don’t go digging through your teenage daughter’s clothes, you may actually be making yourself look older by dressing like you think you are 15 so this is definitely something that you should avoid doing.

Young is not only a frame of mind, but also a physical thing, so be sure to exercise and eat right to keep your body and mind sound through the aging process.

Do things that feed your soul.  Having a good attitude and feeling good about yourself can shine through even the wrinkles.  Have a good time and enjoy your life and do things to make yourself feel better and more confident, and remember there is no one who is more critical of the way you look than you are.

Ceramic Flat Iron

Women like to look good and one of the newest styling tools being used by women all over the US is the very popular flat iron.  Now back in the 70’s they used to accomplish this pin straight hair look by actually ironing it on the ironing board, but today we have an item like a curling iron to straighten our hair and over the past few years they have become very popular.

Now the American Academy of Dermatology is warning that certain flat irons can not only damage hair, but actually cause it to break and fall out.  Experts say that the newer flat irons that are being made are no longer metal like the old curling irons, but are now being made with a ceramic coating which heats up faster and hotter, but is also causing hair damage and breakage.

But DC dermatologist Dr. Dale Isaacson says that becomes a problem when they’re over-used.

Dr. Isaacson says, “The flat irons use a ceramic coating rather than metal, and that causes more uniform heat transmission. The problem comes when these are used on the highest heat setting on a daily basis because that can cause hair damage and breakage.”

Dr. Isaacson offers a few tips for women who still want to straigthen their hair this way:

Only use a flat iron on dry hair.

Use this styling tool only two or three times per week.

And never set the temperture higher than 347 degrees.

Following these simple steps you can still use your ceramic flat iron to straighten, but setting limits on it will help keep your hair from getting damaged and potentially breaking off.  We all want our hair to look nice, but I don’t think that any of us wants to go bald from using a flat iron.

Mirena IUD

Mirena is a new birth control method out on the market, specifically designed for women in their child bearing years, who have already had at least one child. It is an estrogen free intrauterine device that can be used for up to 5 years. They suggest that this form of contraception is to be used by people who are in a committed mutually exclusive relationship, since it does not prevent against STDs. This is not for use by people who have had heart problems or clotting issues. It is also not recommended for use by people who have Pelvic Inflammatory Disease or Diabetes. Here are the reasons that women are choosing Mirena over other forms of birth control:

Extra Benefits You’re Receiving From Mirena

• Provides lower and steadier hormones than the Pill
• Won’t cause significant weight gain
• Easy for your healthcare professional to replace at the end of 5 years (or less, if you choose)
• May also shorten, lighten or even eliminate your periods—after one year of use, there may be up to a 90% reduction in menstrual bleeding, and 20% of Mirena users had no bleeding or spotting at all

Safe, Easy Removal With a Quick Return to Fertility

• You decide when you want to try to become pregnant
• Unlike surgery, Mirena lets you keep your birth control options open (25% of women who have tubal ligation regret the decision later)

Rest Easy With Proven Safety

• Used successfully by more than 8 million women worldwide over the past 16 years
• FDA-approved
• 9 out of 10 women who use Mirena would recommend it to their friends

Side Effects Almost Always Decrease Over Time

Side effects with Mirena are most common during the first three months after insertion and decrease over time.

The most common side effects for women choosing this form of contraception are:

Lower Abdominal Pain (Cramping)

Headache

Mood Swings

Breast Tenderness

Back Pain

Acne and Other assorted Skin Problems

Luckily these side effects seem to diminish over time. If you decide during the time that you are using Mirena that you want to have kids, then Mirena is easily removed by your doctor, enabling you to have children again.