take action

This is from the "take action" section of the beautifull about face page (http://www.about-face.org) It´s about taking action against harmfull body-images by media & companies.

1. Educate yourself and raise your awareness about media that degrades or insults girls/women, and WHY it’s a problem.
2. WRITE an e-mail, letter, or sign a petition to companies that degrade/insult women and tell them you refuse to buy their product until they change their advertising. (Every time you sign one of our petitions, it sends an email to the company!)
3. DO NOT buy products that are advertised in a harmful way to women, girls, or society on the whole (even if you like the product!): That’s what our wallet card is for — to help you remember which products/companies to support or not support. DO buy products that are advertised in a positive way for women, girls, and society, if you have disposable income.

Then, GET your friends and family in on the plan, and change the media environment for yourself and others.
If you are suffering from negative body image or feelings of depression or low self-esteem, you also need to take some personal action:

• Talk to a trusted adult and ask them to help you connect with a professional counselor or therapist if you are deeply troubled or constantly feel bad about yourself.
• Practice looking at yourself in the mirror and finding 5 things you like, and not saying/thinking about what you don’t like.
  Repeat each of the positive attributes 5 times to yourself, out loud.
• Try to begin exercising and eating moderately and regularly if you aren’t already. Dieting is NOT a method for helping yourself have higher self-esteem, regardless of what the weight-loss industry wants you to think.

blue lagune

blue lagune von bonnet1875, beaded jewelry enthaltend

Monsoon linen tunic
monsoon.co.uk

ZEKI halter top
$240 - harrods.com

Flat shoes
zimmermannwear.com

H m
$15 - hm.com

Kenneth Cole beaded jewelry
macys.com

Friendship bracelet
maurices.com

Swarovski eyewear
swarovski.com

Clinique
$29 - johnlewis.com

Never Seconds

 Seen at http://www.periscopepost.com/2012/05/never-seconds-blog-catapults-9-year-old-food-blogger-to-viral-success/

‘Never Seconds’ blog catapults 9-year-old food blogger to viral success. A 9-year-old girl’s blog about her primary school’s less than satisfying lunches goes viral, with a bit of help from celebrity chef Jamie Oliver – and even forces council to change lunch policies.

Martha Payne, a 9-year-old from Scotland, was not pleased with the lunchtime offerings at her primary school: Stingy on the portions, too few vegetables, poor taste. So she did what any child of the 21st century would do – she started a blog.

Never Seconds, started on April 30, details Payne’s daily culinary adventures: She documents each meal with a picture, and rates the meal according to taste (“food-o-meter”), portion-size, healthfulness, and how many hairs she’s found in it (so far, none). And already, she’s discovered just how powerful the internet can be.

The budding food blogger achieved international fame after celebrity chef Jamie Oliver tweeted a message to Payne’s father on May 10, directing his masses of followers to her blog. Since then, her blog has blown up – as of Friday, the blog had received more than 1.3 million hits – and Payne was interviewed on the BBC, and was mentioned on American media, including ABC. Perhaps more importantly, after Payne exposed to the wider world just how measly the portions at her school were, her father met with the local council – as of May 17, primary school students were allowed as much fruit, vegetable and bread as they wanted.

Intersting article about high heels

Beeing buisy at last week and these days i found something interesting and very inspiringly writen. here you go: found at http://todayhealth.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/25/10234588-your-high-heel-habit-is-warping-your-walk and written by Melissa Dahl. I quote: "

If you're a woman reading this from a cubicle (and, judging by what we know about our readers, you probably are), chances are your feet are currently squished into a pair of high heels. You may swear although they look painful, they're "so comfortable!" Sorry, your feet aren't buying it.

A new study suggests that the shoes you love are putting you at risk for muscle injury, even when you walk barefoot.

When you wear a high-heeled shoe, your foot is forced into a plantar-flexed position. In other words, you're pointing your toes as long as you've got the shoes on. Imagine Barbie feet.

Day after day of teetering in towering heels appears to shorten fibers in the calf muscle, and make the Achilles tendon stiffen instead of flex with each step. Both of these factors may contribute to muscle fatigue, and potential injury. In a study, researchers analyzed the way longtime high-heel lovers used their muscles to walk across the room, both with their heels and without, and compared their gait to that of women who generally wore flats. The nine habitual high heel wearers had worn heels of at least 5 centimeters (that's just under 2 inches) at least 40 hours every week for at least two years; the 10 control participants usually wore heels for less than 10 hours each week. The heels devotees tended to walk in that perpetually flexed-foot way, even when they walked barefoot. "The results suggest that long-term high heel use may compromise muscle efficiency in walking, and are consistent with reports that high heel wearers often experience discomfort and muscle fatigue. Long-term high heel use may also increase the risk of strain injuries," write the authors, led by Dr. Neil J. Cronin, currently a researcher at Finland's University of Jyvaskyla.

Cronin spoke with The New York Times' Gretchen Reynolds, explaining the risk of injury that high heel wears may not even know they're taking. 

The risks extend to workouts, when heel wearers abruptly switch to sneakers or other flat shoes. “In a person who wears heels most of her working week,” Dr. Cronin says, the foot and leg positioning in heels “becomes the new default position for the joints and the structures within. Any change to this default setting,” he says, like pulling on Keds or Crocs, constitutes “a novel environment, which could increase injury risk.”

Interestingly, the average age of the study participants was just 25, suggesting that these calf muscle changes can happen fast, and at a much younger age than previous studies have indicated. But we know better than to try to convince you to ditch the heels. Instead, try to limit the number of days you wear high heels to just a couple times a week, instead of Monday through Friday. We wearers of flats will warmly welcome you back down to our level." End of the great and informing article written by Melissa Dahl found at http://todayhealth.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/25/10234588-your-high-heel-habit-is-warping-your-walk

Make-up & Foundation

Every woman knows about make-up. But the favorites have changed with time. You hardly use the type of compact your mother prefered at your age. With time moving on the quality impoved and there is so much choice. I would go for the ones that add som moisturising effect. Make-up sticks could be applied direct on the skin with just your hands (clean before) and are handy for your bag and the streets. Liquid make-up often provide more moisture than the compact ones. I love olaz "Touch of foundation" but Ellen Betrix/Max Factor is also in my bathroom. I do love the natural beauty-brands like dr. Hauschka, Lavera and Logona but most can´t you buy in your grocery next door and that is a pitty because they are realy good at customer-ratings. On the other hand i´ve read an astonishing article last week about how much dangerous chemical components can be found in some lip-gloss products. And not as you would expect in the low-range ones, oh now! Most products for shiny lips contain polymeres wich can be found in PLASTICBOTTLES and paraffine that in greater amount can damage the liver and kidney. A few famous brands contain the pigment tartrazine (E-102) that can lead to eczema or itching. Such as in „Lancôme Juicy Tubes Ultra Shiny Hydrating Lip Gloss, 17 Fraise“, „L‘Oréal Glam Shine 6H Gloss Brillance, 500“, “Manhattan Long Lasting Gloss Glide Lipgloss 531“, “Lipgloss by H&M, Exotic Grapefruits“ and „Astor Prismatic Volume & Shine, 10 Volcanic Ruby". But the organic and natural brands like my beloved dr. Hauschka products seem not to need these components. I think there can be found many dubious ingredients in our shiny, pretty and always so cute designed beauty products. And imagine, woman use it nearly everyday in a very sensitive and exposed part of their body. Not only is your face exposed to the dirt of the street, its exposed to the sun and the chemical components of your make-up. You can´t change the environment but you can reduce the strain caused by decorative cosmectics. 

But enough of the raised finger. Just a little reminder on the abc of foundations that everyone knows but in the "heath of the battle" is easy forgotten. 1: colour shade - buy a shade slightly lighter that your skin because too dark foundation makes your face look older. 2: application- not to pile on your face but in a slight layer. If there are spots still visible do a second thin layer. 3: Hair - avoid eyebrows and the hairline, it looks so obvious painted. 4: Chin line -  avoid the "mask-effect" between chin and neck. Brush with a sponge over the chin to smudge the lines. 5: Powder - it should fix the foundation. I use a cotton ball to applicate it carefull and use a brush afterwards to remove spare powder. 6: Removing make-up - no mater how tired i am, a ALWAYS take the few minutes to clean my face and remove the old make-up and shed skin of the day. That will look better on your pillow and your face. I use a sensitive lotion and once a week a peeling. Afterwards i use a night cream. And sometimes a do not use any foundation or make-up when i go out just to let my skin breath (mostly on week ends or spare time when i do my weekly shopping). Chew on that, make-up industry!

Victory - i fought diseases with household remedies

Something is going on here. I get only distorted signs of life from my friends because half of them is staing at home and having a bad cold. Because this winter is so far very mild all kind of diseases seemed to be on their way trough the towns. Unfortunately i hadet my share of the lot too and now i updated my knowledge of good old household medicine by telephoning my friends. Yes, i phoned them because telling the whole facebook-world how often i have to sneeze is nothing i would prefere. And this is what i found out after a long telephone conference with other flu victims. Camomile tea is so well known, it´s not a secret weapon against a cold any more just like fennel tea.

With camomile blossoms you can make "wonderfull" steam bathes. simply bail water and get it in a bowl, then head over the steam and cover it with a towel. Five minutes (no cheating) and it should free congested noses. Also very popular with my friends is honey. Whether with lemon juice or on rusk, when you are ill you can´t do something wrong with honey. 

http://www.justhealthtips.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/benefits-of-honey.jpg

And i mean real honey - ecological products or fair traide and not that 0,99€ trash one can buy on sale on your local supermarket. This "Honey" doesn´t count. In old arabic medicine books you can read that ancient doctors healed wounds, combustion and even bacterial infections with honey. Another know secret against bed health is ginger. when you can´t speak you can chop some slices of ginger and bail them with water. Then drink the resulting liquid - it worked for me but the taste was - to put it mildly - interesting. Oils from vegetables like peppermint oil or eucalyptus oil are helping too to free your noses so you can breath easy again. If you drop something on your clothes or use it with hot water depends on the type of oil you have in house. And one last sentence, fresh air is so good, even if it might feel cold at the moment but after a few moment you feel so much better - so dont forget to open your windor frequently if you are at home.