I hate the pressure that Valentine’s Day puts on people. I hate that there’s supposed to be one day of the year that’s more special than others for love. I love my husband 365 days of the year, and I want him to feel that every day. I don’t need a stinkin’ day in February to state my case.

I hate how people get their expectations up, and if their partner doesn’t get them what they hoped for, it makes people frustrated. She wants a ring, he gets her flowers. He wants some wicked lingerie and fun, she makes a romantic dinner. Seriously, why do we need one day in February for this.

I know, I know, I’m a girl, and I’ll still gush when I’m remembered. Heck, we just love to tell our friends how great our guy is. Guess what he did!??? Ya know?

Man, one year I was working in an office, and my husband, then boyfriend sent me this freaking huge bouquet of 2 dozen long stem roses. It looked like a damn bush that took up half of my desk. I loved it. Who wouldn’t want to get the biggest, best, and coolest flowers sent to the office ? Yeah, well after the thrill wore off, I had this bush I was pruning just so I could claim my desk back! It was awesome though, because I felt acknowledged. I guess that’s the thing, I want to be acknowledged, but I want to be acknowledged in January and May, and April and October just as much as February.

We usually just agree that we’ll go out to dinner one night that week…which we do every week! We’re secure enough in our relationship to know that one day doesn’t make a marriage.

….but on that note, honey, there’s this gorgeous diamond eternity ring I like. No wait for me, because I want to pick it out. Oh yeah, and our anniversary is i the spring, then there’s my birthday in the summer…..ha, kidding. 

It’s adorable inside, and offers fresh food. You’ll always find fresh baked goods like muffins, turnovers and cookies on the counter. In the fridge case you’ll find pies, cakes and other goodies to choose from.

My son is sold on the banana shake, and I’m fond of one of their smoothies. If you choose one of the fruit smoothies, you can even get home made yogurt added in.

Check out Cafe Hola! next time you’re in Hgh Bridge. 

This book should be required reading for every teenage girl, woman in her 20s, 30′s and so on. I love this book. I first saw it mentioned in a magazine, so I hopped over to Amazon and pre-ordered it. It was due out the following day, and it got here quickly!

Body Drama is full of pictures, writing, questions and more. Is that normal? That’s one of the first things a woman will ask herself if something new is going on with her body. I love how this book takes on simple topics, down to complex and even hush-hush topics like "down there". Let’s face it, we all are curious to know what’s "normal".

I love how they take pictures of several different shapes and sizes of women, and show us the variety that is out there. Seriously, there’s a 2 rows of vaginas. Nope, you don’t see the woman attached to it, you just see a bunch of vaginas. They all look so differently. See, nobody is exactly the same, but you may find similarities to a few.

There is a section where it is just different bodies, and it’s ispiring to see so many different shapes of people baring it all, so that you can understand, we’re all unique. It’s not just about pictures though, even though they are images of healthy women that are exposing themselves so you can see that "normal" does not mean one thing.

The strength in this book is not just in pictures. It takes a look at things like our period, piercings, our boobs, as well as hygiene. Ummm, I noticed something, is this normal? That’s the beauty of this book, it lets you know what is and what isn’t normal. It’s like that conversation you wish you could have with your mom when you’re a teenager, but are too embarrassed. It’s that ending the curiosity to see if yours look like theirs. It’s that knowledge that helps women understand, you don’t have to be embarrassed of your body. Understanding your body empowers you.

Take the time to pick this book up for every woman you know. If you have a teenager daughter, this would make an excellent gift, but you may want to grab a copy for yourself as well.

I give this book an excellent rating, not only for what’s included in it, but for what it can do to women’s self-esteem everywhere.  

I’ve been playing with a new lotion called Skin MD. It’s considered a shielding lotion on the bottle. The top ingredients include water, aloe and a silicone based product. I love that the aloe is in it, and a lot of skin care products will actually use aloe in place of water, which I like. My skin loves aloe, so I like to see it high on the list.

Here’s my scoop, I have malabsorption issues, and one of the vitamins my body has trouble holding onto is vitamin A. I actually take a supplement of it because of that. When my GI Doc told me to start taking A regularly, I was happy to see it was helping my skin some. In the last two years, my skin has become much more dry than I’m used to! In the winter, I used to watch my friends and family load on the lotion, and I just never seemed to need it. Then like a switch was flipped on, suddenly I was dry as a bone. The vitamin A is helping some, when I remember to take it, but they only learned that about me this year. In the meantime, I’ve been playing with all sorts of lotions.

Hey, I’m a skin care chick. I don’t work in a spa anymore, but it’s in my blood now. I love skin care products, and love to compare them. I’ve used so many different types, and one thing I hate is a lotion or cream that is slow to absorb. That’s not the case with Skin MD. It absorbed really quickly and had a really nice consistency. I’ve been using it for about 2 weeks now, and I’m really happy with this one. It will be added to my list of lotions to keep in the house. My arms are especially loving it! 

I give it a thumbs up- nice lotion!  

I got a bottle of Gloves in a Bottle in the mail after requesting to sample it.  I’d heard good things about it in the past, and was finally able to try it. It’s waterproof and bonds to the skin, so it comes off with your natural exfoliation.

About five minutes after putting it on my left foot (I put nothing on my right to see if I noticed a difference), I was amazed at how the bottom of my foot felt. It didn’t feel tight anymore, which is usually does, because they are dry. It didn’t feel like regular lotion though, it had a different feel to it, it was more ovbious that my foot felt better. The only way I can describe it is my foot felt "comfortable". Does that make sense? I’m used to the dry feeling, and when I put lotion on, it feels better, but it feels like lotion. There’s dimethicone in this, so there’s a silicon base that’s going to help lock that moisture in. It’s weird how fast I noticed the difference, but I did. I honestly didn’t expect it to be much different than other lotions I use. I was wrong. I liket this stuff, and will continue using it.

GlovesInABottle.com 

You can also see my Squidoo lens on Esthetician information at Squidoo.com/esthetician

I’ve actually built a couple of lenses on skin care, mineral make-up and others. You can check them all out!

What are you waiting for? Spread the word!!!! 

I bought a little journal at the store the other day. It’s nothing fancy, just a pad of paper 5×7, with a great cover that had me thinking creative thoughts. I’ve been fascinated with paper, pads, pens and the such since I was younger. It was one of the first times I realized I didn’t just like to write, I love to write.

I thought everyone got that reaction when they got new pens or paper, wanting to pull them out and start drafting a project of words together. Weaving words didn’t even have to make sense, I just wanted to write them out.

These days I type most of my words, though I still love a fresh pad to start writing on. The other day though, as I stood in the aisle of the store, I saw this little pad looking up at me, and I had to touch it, pick it up, and flip through it. There was magic in this small book, and I wanted it. I didn’t know why, or have a particular use for it, but it stirred up that magic in me yet again, like when I was younger and found a perfect little journal.  

I was just sitting outside watching a bird dance between fence posts and enjoyed seeing glass blades bending in the wind. I was sitting thinking about whether I needed something my mind has been turning to.

I work from home, so most of the time, I’m at my desk and working at my computer. This is a great convenience to be at home working, but the one thing it does is ties me to a desk a good part of the day.

What if I had a laptop that I could bring with me into another room? Maybe take it with me when I travel so I could continue to work when I had spare time. Then I started to realize, do I really want to have that capability. I’m at my desk sometimes 10 hours a day, and do I want those moments on the sun room ruined with a laptop on my experience. I’d miss seeing the bird dance, and I’d miss watching the grass blow in the breeze, because I’d be working on my computer.

Let’s talk about travel…if I have it with me, I’d sure be able to connect at the hotel, but then I’d miss the quiet I enjoy which I set aside for thinking, or reading, or taking a long bubble bath. When it comes down to it, if I have the laptop, most likely, I will work or do things in those moments where right now I treasure that quiet time.

I had to then think about why I want the flexibility of a laptop and what it represents to me. What exactly does it represent to me? I think there’s a piece of me that associates it with "business men" and "success", so if I have a laptop to go along with my desktop, it must mean that I have achieved a level of success to need both. Maybe it’s my mental imagery that pushes me need and desire to get one. I’ve been close to buying one before, but came to the same conclusion. I really don’t need one, and honestly, sometimes I desperately need a break from my computer.

When I went on a 12 day vacation, I thought I’d be lost without it, but you know what, email waits, work waits, and message boards are still there when you get back, and the time not focused on a computer meant it was focused elsewhere and I enjoyed my trip more thoroughly.

My biggest want and need is word processing capabilities, because I love to write, and when I’m away from my desk, I want the ability to jot those thoughts down quickly and easily, and quite frankly, typing gets it done SO much faster than handwriting for me. I’d then have to copy it over to the computer at a later date. I did pick up a small toy that helps me with those word processing abilities, so why would I need yet another ability? What is it that the laptop means? Why do I need it?

I’m such a retail therapy person and I’ve gotten pretty much anything I’ve wanted over the years, but this is that one thing that I’ve said no to over and over and over again. I’ve stopped myself so many times, why do I give in this time. So now it becomes, am I denying myself because it’s the one thing I’ve been able to say no to for so long, or am I saying no because quite frankly I don’t need it. Overthinking things….doesn’t do you any favors

Then I started thinking about my cell phone and realizing that there are times that I resent that thing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I have it in case of an emergency, but when you are taking time for yourself, suddenly you are now "reachable". Everyone knows you have it, so why not. How many people are more accessable to their bosses as well with their online capabilities at home, cell phones and laptops at hotels when traveling. We’ve become reachable 24 hours a day, and instead of being more productive and happy that we got more done, we end up more stressed wondering how to get away from it all….

There’s a fine balance between having the tech gadgets and toys because you want them, to them driving you nuts, because you can’t get away from them. Any thoughts on this topic?

What’s in your skin care products?  Take the time to look and know the difference. You don’t have to spend an arm and a leg, but by knowing what ingredients are in your products, you’ll know what’s helping and what’s not.