Thanksgiving

T H A N K S  G I V I N G ~  typically the traditional thanksgiving meal either consists of turkey and/or ham.  This year for me, I will not be partaking in the typical thanksgiving "meat" dinner.  I have been vegetarian for several months now.  I have been vegan for several weeks now.  My thanksgiving will consist of juicing vegetables and fruit, salad (no dressing) water, and vegan pumpkin pie...yum!

Look how cute they are!!

Juicing

 Like many people I was wondering the benefits of juicing versus just eating vegetables and fruit.  Also, I have always wondered how beneficial those "naked" juices are or "bolthouse farms" juices.  The prices attached to both brands are very expensive!  Well, if you have wondered the same about juicing or the price for organic juice versus how beneficial that prepackaged juice is, keep reading.

If I go into some place local for a fresh juice, I will pay anywhere from $2.99 for 1 oz. shot of wheat grass, to $3.99 for a 12 oz. carrot(or other veggies) juice.  But what is the importance of drinking 1-2 ounces of fresh wheat grass or 12 oz. of fresh carrot juice versus the prepackaged juices?  Read the nutritional facts about the amount of sugar that is in the prepackaged bottles.  Fresh juice doesn't contain the sugar like a prepackaged juice does.

Why would I or anyone else want or benefit from buying fresh juice or juicing fresh at home?  Not only do I/you get nutrients from fruit, but I/you also get enzymes.  Enzymes are our body's work force.  They act as catalysts in hundreds of thousands of chemical reactions that take place throughout the body.  Enzymes are essential for digestion and absorption of food, conversion of food into body tissue, production of energy at the cellular level.  Enzymes are critical for most of the metabolic activities taking place in your body every second of every day.  Fresh juices are a tremendous source of enzymes!  Remember I was wondering about "freshness" with juicing...enzymes are destroyed by heat.  When you heat grains, fruit or vegetables above 114 degrees, the enzymes are destroyed!  Since fruit and vegetables are juiced raw, the enzymes are still viable when you drink the juice.  Juicing removes the indigestible fiber so the nutrients are available to the body in much larger quantities than if the fruit or vegetable would be eaten whole.  ie: many nutrients are trapped in the fiber when you eat a raw carrot, you are only able to assimilate about 1% of the available beta carotene.  But when a carrot is juiced, removing the fiber, nearly 100% of the beta carotene can be assimilated.  So when juicing fresh veggies or fruit, our bodies can absorb all the nutrients (the plants have to offer) faster than eating the plant.

The National Cancer Institute recommends for everyone to eat 3 servings of fruit a day and 5 servings of vegetables a day.  A diet high in fruits and vegetables will help cure and prevent a wide variety of ailments. The phytochemicals that researchers have uncovered, are changing the way we think about food!  Especially fruits and vegetables.  Broccoli, for example, contains a substance that may prevent, even cure, breast cancer! Citrus fruits have substances that make it easier for your body to remove carcinogens, which then decrease the chance of contracting cancer. Grapes contain a phytochemical that appears to protect each cells' DNA from damage (hello anti-oxidant)! A number of green vegetables contain phytochemicals that appear to offer protection against cancer causing substances. Bok choy, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, collards, kale, kohlrabi, mustard greens, rutabega, turnip greens, red beets, peppers, garlic, onions, leeks and chives all are a few vegetables that appear to have cancer preventing phytochemicals!

I encourage you to do some research for yourself.

MAC cosmetics

MAC!  Ever tried it?  I bet you will love it if you try it!  I thought I would share a little about their lipglass lip colors and how beautiful they are and how well they work!

MAC's lipglass comes in many, many different colors!  It also has a wonderful soft brush wand for easy application.

If you like shimmer or sparkle to your lip gloss, you have to try a lipglass in your favorite shade.

My favorite shade right now is "Money Honey"

"Money Honey" not only do I love the name, but it is a wonderful bright pink with lots of sparkle and shine!

If you want to get some attention to your lips and show off your mouth, you will want to try a lipglass.

Check out these beautiful, luscious lips in money honey...

FUNTABULOUS 
is right!!

Look at that sparkle and shine!

Love that cool pink color...

Money, Honey

Mid-tone rosy mauve with red pearl 

US$18.00

So, since Christmas is right around the corner...pick yourself up a beautiful new shade of lipglass or one for a friend!  Or, a giftcard is always a wonderful gift :D

SEPHORA

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Sephora is a lot of fun!  It can be overwhelming too if you don't have a lot of time to spend looking around and waiting for someone to help you.  It is a wonderful place if you want to try some new products and want samples instead of buying right away.  Sephora has everything (except MAC).

All locations are a huge store with tons of bright lights and products every where!

Not only does Sephora have makeup, skincare, haircare, bodycare, perfume, cologne, etc. Sephora also has tools!  Make up brushes, tweezers, fake lashes, airbrush machines, eyelash curlers, flat irons, blow dryers, curling irons, and more!  Like CLARISONICS

Clarisonic is a hand held machine that is proven to give your skin the best clean of it's life!  It's also talked about being anti-aging too.

When I was shopping at Sephora today I was able to receive free gifts/products because I have a beauty insider card.

By going online to Sephora's website you can join beauty insider or sign up in a store.

Anytime you go in the store to buy or shop online, you have your beauty insider card/account scanned and they keep track of your points so that you get free gifts!

Here is an example of how the makeup is arranged.  It is also price marked which is nice, because the department stores are never marked.

Make Up FOREVER ....love it!  Large quantity and tons of colors to choose from.  I just love this ad.  Her lips are awesome, love the flawless skin, beauty mark they added in, and of course the brush in her mouth. ;)

So if you are bored with your make up, make up trends, need to refill product, or just want to check it out, I recommend it!  It's kinda like IKEA for make up and skin care LOL.

China Glaze Nail Polish

China Glaze nail polish is awesome!  I just took a China Glaze "Color Swirl" class, and loved it!  I have always been an OPI snob, but now I love China Glaze.  Here are some pictures of the color swirl you can do with China Glaze polishes....

So I took these three beautiful colors, a bowl of room temperature water water, and some orange wood sticks.  You are going to create a bulls-eye with the polishes by dropping 1 drop of each color (green drop then blue drop then white drop, etc).  When creating the bulls-eye you have to move fast!  I make sure all my lids are twisted off and ready for me to just grab and drop my color.  Once I had enough color dropped, then I take my bulls-eye and start swirling, pulling the rim to the middle, or trying to make a flower.

Once you have your shape or swirl or design that appeals to you, you place your nail (tip or client's nail) into the water without touching the bottom of the bowl.  Then scrape the polish film that is on top of the water and around the nail/finger so you can pull up out of the water without messing up your imprint.

And here is an example of how fun you can make your nails!

Some other examples of fun with China Glaze and how beautiful their colors are....

This is Sexy In The City!  I am wearing it now ;)

This is Fresh Mint

This color reminds me of OPI's Cajun Shrimp!  Hope you'll try China Glaze!!

The Beautiful Truth & The Gerson Therapy

Amazing, amazing movie!  Please educate yourself and watch this movie.  You will definitely want to take notes when watching this movie.  If you know anyone who has/had cancer, you will want to watch this movie.  If you have been diagnosed with cancer, you will want to watch this movie.  If you do not want to get cancer, I would recommend watching this movie!

Food Inc.

After watching the documentary, Food, INC. over a month ago, I have not eaten the same.  This movie is so powerful and educational!  I highly recommend you watch it and take notes.  If you have daughters, please watch this movie.  If you have sons, please watch this movie.  If you care about animals, please watch this movie.  If you care about your body and your health, please watch this movie!!

Did you know that cows eat grass?  Yea I think everybody knew that.  But did you know that billions of cows everyday are being fed corn?  Corn is cheaper and gets them fatter faster.  Corn is bad for cows, their bodies cannot digest the corn they are given.

Notice the years above the chickens.  Notice the chickens bodies.  Notice the number of days this takes to grow a chicken to that size.  47 days....isn't that chicken really still a baby?  Why are we eating chickens that are full of growth hormones?  Did you know you were eating chickens with growth hormones?  Do you know what effects growth hormones have on your body and your children's bodies?  If you eat/buy fast food chicken, you are eating growth hormones and supporting this awful abuse.  Do you eat/buy Tyson chicken?  Then you are eating growth hormones and supporting this awful abuse.  Basically, if you are not buying locally grown and loved chickens (meat, veggies, fruit) that have not been injected with growth hormones and abused by living their horrible lives in the dark until they are killed, you are eating growth hormones and supporting this abuse (which I was not aware of until watching Food, INC.).

Food to Improve Your Skin

 Dr. Perricone says if you eat 3 to 4 hard boiled egg whites for breakfast for 3 days (and following the diet for snacks and other meals) you will notice a face lift and beautiful, healthy skin.

By eating 1/3 cup of fresh raw almonds two to three times a day inbetween meals for snack will improve your skin (and by following the other meals in the diet for 3 days).

1 cup of fresh green leafy spinach for lunch and dinner (with no dressing) will improve your skin drastically in 3 days (if you following Dr. Perricone's full 3 day face lift diet).

Dr. Perricone says that everyone should eat fresh raspberries and blueberries multiple times everyday!  He recommends 1/3 cup of fresh berries on top of fresh cup of spinach salad.

Dr. Perricone is a big fan of fresh Alaskan salmon for our bodies and our skin.  He recommends eating 4 ounces of Alaskan salmon twice a day with fresh berries and fresh spinach salad (if you are going to smoke, broil or grill salmon, Dr. Perricone recommends using fresh lemon juice and fresh herbs instead of sauces, rubs or packaged spices).

Dr. Perricone also recommends drinking distilled water.  It is the purest water we can take in for our bodies and our skin.  For this 3 day face lift diet, he recommends drinking only distilled water (1 cup of black coffee or tea is allowed).

Example Menu

Breakfast
3 egg omelet and/or 4-6 oz. grilled salmon.
½ cup cooked oatmeal (not instant)
2” wedge of cantaloupe or 1/3 cup fresh berries
8 – 12 oz. spring water
Lunch
4-6 oz. grilled salmon.
2 cups green salad (Romaine lettuce or other dark leafy greens with extra virgin olive oil and fresh squeezed lemon)
1 kiwi fruit or cantaloupe and berries
8 – 12 oz. spring water
Snack
1 apple
2 oz. slice of turkey breast or 6 oz. plain yogurt
Small handful of hazelnuts, walnuts or almonds
Dinner
4-6 oz. grilled salmon
2 cups green salad
½ cup steamed veggies. (Asparagus, broccoli, spinach, etc. No root vegetables, such as potatoes, carrots, or beets.)
Cantaloupe and berries
8 – 12 oz. spring water
Before Bedtime Snack
1 pear or apple
2 oz. slice chicken or turkey breast or 6 oz. plain yogurt
Small handful of hazelnuts, walnuts or almonds

 It's only 3 days!  Just try it.  Take before and after pictures, write in a journal, and take time to notice how you feel after these 3 days of the face lift diet.