Schmoozins

This papaya sauce with a kick is the perfect compliment to some fresh sea scallops. Serve with bread as an appetizer or over rice for a full meal.

The Ingredients:

• 1 small papaya, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp minced jalapeno peppers
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 pound sea scallops
• salt and pepper to taste

The Process:

Take a medium sized bowl and place in it the cilantro, lime juice, jalapeno, onion, red pepper and papaya, stirring them together and then setting the bowl aside when finished.

Then take a plastic bag that can be sealed, placing the scallops, pepper, salt and flour in the bag before shaking it in order to coat the scallops with the flour and the seasoning.

Once that has been completed, place a skillet on medium-high heat on the stove, cooking the scallops in the skillet until they turn a golden colour.

Place the scallops over the papaya sauce that you set aside earlier, before serving the whole dish immediately.

The pursuit of beauty can be very expensive. Factor in the cost of shampoo, conditioner, nail polish, make-up, perfume, and lotions, to name just a few of the products you might use, and you could end up spending a small fortune. Don’t be discouraged though because it is possible to have everything you need, while saving money on beauty products.

One way to reduce your costs on beauty products is to use homemade products. In fact, some home beauty treatments are simply a matter of using a single ingredient. Investing in a good book that will show you how to create your own products will save you lots in the long run. An extra bonus is that your products will be chemical free, especially important for those who have sensitive skin.

Comparison shopping is a good way to get products at the best price. Make a few phone calls and check store ads. Ask if you can get free samples with your purchase. Some stores may be willing to sweeten the deal to make a customer out of you.

Waiting for sales is an excellent cost saving measure. Many products will be discounted from time to time. The trick is to stock up when they’re discounted, so you’ll hopefully have enough to last until the next sale.

Waiting for sales is an excellent cost saving measure. Many products will be discounted from time to time. The trick is to stock up when they’re discounted, so you’ll hopefully have enough to last until the next sale.

New products are frequently priced at lower introductory prices to entice consumers to give them a try. You may even get free samples of a related product from the same manufacturer. The beauty companies know that if they can get you to try their product, you may continue to use it. Take advantage of this and save some money. You might even discover a new product you absolutely love.

Avoid purchasing beauty supplies or cosmetics at high priced cosmetic counters. Generally you will get a better price at a local discount store or drugstore. Or, see if your hair stylist can give you a deal on the product line she carries. If you’re a loyal customer she may be happy to reward your loyalty with good prices on great products.

Another option is to avoid name brands in favor of generic or store brands. Often these products contain the same ingredients as the more expensive brands. You’re just paying more because of the name on the bottle.

Check the Internet for sources of your favorite beauty products too. If you decide to shop on the Internet, be aware of shipping costs. Sometimes you can get free or discounted shipping if you order a certain amount. Some online sites even include free samples of other products with each order. A few include a free gift with each order. It pays to shop around and is easy to do online.
So, there you have it. It pays to shop around and shopping smart will help you to save money on beauty products.

Life insurance can protect your family’s future, provide money for taxes and funeral expenses, and help them stay on their feet. But like anything else, it’s an expenditure in the family budget and getting the best buy can be a matter of doing your homework.

With advances in medicine, people are living longer, and as a result the insurance industry is highly competitive right now. Shop around and compare plans in from the perspective of premiums and benefits. See if you can get the same plan from a no-commission agent, which means reduced fees when you sign up. Ask about fractional premiums, which means paying a year’s premiums at once, instead of 12 times. It not only saves you on bank fees, but saves the company on book and paperwork, and you should get a discount.

Taking care of yourself is one of the best ways to save. The person in good health, who doesn’t smoke, has alcohol only occasionally, and can ace a doctor’s exam, is going to get lower premiums than someone with lifestyle risks.

Is procrastination your best friend? Do you often say,” I am going to do _____. Or, tomorrow I will start __________?” This week, let’s talk about procrastination.

We all have the best intentions to exercise, clean our homes, and finally organize the closets. What happens between what we want to do and the necessary action to do what we Really want? Can anyone relate? We all have a list of the things that we want to accomplish to make our lives better. What stops us dead in our tracks from achieving what we start? Do you know? Well, I think that what stops us are limiting beliefs. A limiting belief is a thought process that tells us not now, just wait until they are in school or that you can do it tomorrow. I know that many of you are nodding your head in agreement with me.

Often, these beliefs stem from some programming that we may have heard early in our lives. It could have been your sibling who always poured the milk for you because you always spilled it. The belief becomes “I need the help of others to take care of what I need” or it could have been a teacher who advised you to change your major because you did not quite have the discipline for mathematics. Trust me, we all have a story. What do you remember others saying to you in your past that you might be playing out today?

What can we do about these limiting beliefs? The best thing we can do is to recognize that we all have them and become conscious of what they might be. The following exercise is great to help you identify your belief system and to create a new system message.

1. Take out a sheet of paper or journal and write down 5 things that you are procrastinating on.
2. Write down why you are procrastinating
3. Next, write down a small action that you can take right now to take action toward this item.

Challenge – Take action. The only way to change behavior is with a new behavior.

Acknowledging and creating an action to overcome these beliefs is an important step to moving forward. I look forward to your comments this week. And to get you started creating your own list of goals, I would like to invite you to claim your free access to my E-book “Eliminating Mommy Burn-Out”. Get free access at www.helpformomsreport.com

From Mia Redrick- Author, Time for mom-Me:5 Essential Strategies for A Mother’s Self-Care and Finding Definitions, the premier self-care community for mothers www.findingdefinitions.com

COMING IN SEPTEMBER 2008! Time for mom-Me Retreat

No doubt about it, our favorite celebrities look fabulous, but they don’t achieve that look alone. In fact, they have lots of help getting there. With a few tips from these insiders, we can look our best too. Read on for some secret celebrity beauty tips.

Wardrobe expert Ricci DeMartino offers advice on looking slimmer than you really are. To look lean and pulled together, wear clothing in matching colors on the top and bottom, like khaki pants and a taupe blouse. Avoid wearing two different colors like a red blouse and blue pants. This cuts you in half and draws attention to your waist making you appear bigger.

Stars like Tyra Banks and Gwyneth Paltrow swear by figure-controlling pants and tights to hide bulges. They are not the only stars who wear minimizing undergarments when wearing elegant evening wear either.

With zoom lenses picking up the tiniest flaw, great skin care is high on the list of must-dos for celebs as well. A biggie is protecting sensitive skin from the sun’s UV rays as well as from environmental irritants. Products of choice contain antioxidants.

Slathering on the sunscreen is recommended too. Even with sunscreen on, the stars avoid sunbathing, to keep their skin in top condition. So how do they get that just off the beach look? Stars like Lindsay Lohan use a process called Mystic Tan, where a self-bronzer is sprayed on in a tanning booth. The glow lasts for up to seven days and is UV free. No tanning beds or lying on the beach to get that awesome tanned look.

Keeping the skin well hydrated is another biggie for celebrities and it should be for you too. Dry skin shows fine lines, making you appear older. Products containing Vitamin A fight signs of aging so read the label and check the ingredients when you choose your moisturizing cream. Go for the super dewy look like Debra Messing.

If your eyes look tired, puffy or red, you look older. Youth and vibrancy go hand in hand. Alicia Keys’ make-up artist advises the use of concealers to get rid of dark circles and make eyes appear brighter and more rested.

There are secrets to having great looking hair too, of course. One surprising trick that many stars rely on is to not wash their hair every day. In fact many stars absolutely won’t wash their hair the day of a big awards show. Why not? Well, it seems that shampooing too frequently gets rid of naturally occurring oils. We knew that but why is that important? These oils are what keep hair shiny and smooth naturally, creating a fabulous look for the big event.

Hair extensions are all the rage in Hollywood these days. But this may be one tip you may not want to use. They come with a hefty price tag and some heavy duty upkeep.

We may not have access to our own personal make-up artists, hairdressers, or advisors, on a daily basis, but with a little bit of work and some creativity, we too can achieve a celebrity-like look.

Consider some facts. The average person works more than a 40 hour week. If they are parents they are also engaged in school activities adding another 10-20 hours a week. If you count in house hold responsibilities you are looking at just enough time to eat and sleep. This makes for a hectic and busy schedule and most people do not want to add to it by having to spend time in the kitchen.

The result of this is a large number of prepackaged processed foods that are high in a number of things like salt, sugar and fat. All of these things lead to an unhealthy lifestyle. This makes for tired bodies and minds that are less able to process information and deal with stress. There are a few things however that people can do that can help provide low fat meals for their families as well as for themselves.

The first step is to avoid fast foods. While they are convenient and driving by on the way home from work and picking up dinner is a great way to eliminate cook time it is also adding a great deal of unnecessary fat to your diet. Frozen dinners may provide a low in fat alternative but you end up adding salt and other preservatives which can be equally as bad. Maintaining a low fat lifestyle is not just about cutting out fat it is about eating healthy.

How often have you been busy at work and just grabbed something from a fast food place or a donut or snack from a vending machine for a meal while rushing to complete this project or on your way to that meeting. You are doing yourself and your work a disservice. Taking the time to eat properly produces better results than the quick pick me up options.

Here are some alternatives, when making meals make double or triple the recipes. Then using freezer storage containers, they make some now that are the size of plates and can freeze an entire meal like a tv dinner, freeze individual meals in the freezer. Then all you have to do is pull it out and reheat. It saves time and produces low fat meals easily.

Buy low fat snacks to keep with you at the office or in your car. If you have a full busy schedule and meal times seem to be from vending machines, fast food restaurants or you drink your meals consider low fat breakfast bars, snack bars or things that store well or can be eaten either warm or cold. These will give you quick on the go healthy alternatives eliminating the vending machine and the fast food joint from your diet without causing inconveniences.

Here’s a yummy and healthy whole wheat pasta, made with delicious fresh tomatoes, garlic, fennel and olives.

The Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons sliced fennel bulb
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 1/4 cup sliced black olives
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
• Black pepper to taste
• 8 ounces whole wheat pasta
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil

The Process:

Take a foil pack and place inside of it the broth, garlic, olives, tomatoes, oil and fennel, before sealing the pack and grilling it for approximately twelve minutes worth of time. Cook the pasta and when finished you can ladle the sauce over the pasta, sprinkling it with basil and pepper for flavour before serving.

I don’t have to tell you that today’s woman is BUSY. She has so many roles in life from career woman to mother to wife and more. And often times, as women, we end up working so hard caring for everyone else’s needs that we sometimes forget about our own.

If you need a little more balance in your life, time to care for yourself (without ANY guilt) and a little confidence boost, I recommend picking up the “Journey to Joy” toolkit by Aurelia Williams.

Aurelia is a Certified Life Coach and has put together some practical resources to help you find that joy in your life. There’s no need to spend your days pretending to smile on the outside and being a stressed out wreck on the inside. It is possible to have it all…on your own terms.

The toolkit includes:

- Journey to Joy guide that will help you
- Get rid of negative thoughts and “Mommy Guilt”
- Breaking bad habits and choose healthier ones for a happier and healthier you
- Easy-to-use to tips to boost your self-confidence
- Techniques to reduce your stress levels
- Finding more positive time for yourself

Plus you can download extra audio recordings, guides and worksheets to help you with everything from balancing your life, reducing stress and taking action on what you’ve learned in the Journey to Joy guide.

Get all the details and grab yours by clicking here.

(Want to republish this article? Click here to join the affiliate program)

When you’re expecting a first child, the idea of how much it will cost to raise them can be overwhelming. It’s not just the clothes and dental bills, either. You have to factor in a portion of your housing costs, food, transportation, and sundry other items that add up in no time.

It’s pretty hard to predict what you are going to spend and when over the next 18-19 years, but that’s where the Internet can come in handy. Now, many sites offer online calculators that will take your location, your current family income, and the age of your child, and estimate costs for all the essentials, until they reach the age of 19.

The figures can be pretty frightening, but remember that you are paying this out over 18-19 years, and that your income will generally rise in that time, particularly if both parents goes back to full time work, and you make wise investments that will cover some of the costs, like education. Some programs are also flexible, and allow you to change the figures and allot more or less to given areas, and change the time period over which you would be paying that expense.

If you’re concerned, start planning your family budget and grab your step-by-step guide here.

Our eating habits affect our quality of life. Eat too many of the wrong types of food and you are opening yourself up to many potential health related problems. On the other hand, by eating the right kinds of food, you are helping yourself lead a healthier and longer life. In fact, eating these “super foods” will help you to look and feel younger too.

The golden rule of healthy foods is to eat raw, buy organic, and avoid processed. Cooking destroys vitamins and nutrients in food, so eating foods raw, when possible, is recommended. Organic foods are generally agreed to be a healthier alternative because they are free from chemicals and other contaminants.

Avoid packaged and commercially prepared foods as much as possible. Stay away from sugar and refined carbohydrates. Dermatologist Dr. Fredric Brandt believes that sugar breaks down elastin and collagen in the skin, causing premature aging. He thinks you can turn back the clock by ten years and improve the texture, tone and radiance of your skin, simply by reducing the amount of sugar that you eat. (Dr. Brandt counts Madonna and Cher among his clients, so he definitely has some believers in his theory.)

A diet that is rich in fiber, whole grains and antioxidants will keep you looking and feeling younger. Most of us know about fiber and whole grains, but what exactly are antioxidants? Well, antioxidants are vitamins and nutrients. They are so highly regarded because they are thought to protect against damage to the heart, arteries and other tissues. Not only that, they are also capable of repairing damage that has already occurred in cells.

Foods rich in antioxidants include most of the berry family with blueberries topping the list. Kiwi has been recognized for its unusual combination of health promoting substances as well. Apples, cherries and plums are almost as highly rated as berries, so be sure to include them in your anti-aging diet. All vegetables contain varying levels of antioxidants as well as lots of nutrients, especially green leafy vegetables, with beans, artichokes and broccoli having high levels.

The good news for snack lovers is that nuts are considered a healthy food. Pecans, hazelnuts, almonds, and walnuts are especially good for you because they contain Omega 3 fats, which are great for the heart. For those who don’t enjoy eating fish, which are prized for their Omega 3 fats, nuts make a wonderful substitute. Nuts are high in calories, so a little go a long way.

Even better news for snack lovers is that chocolate has made the list of “good for you” foods. Dark chocolate in particular has healthy benefits for us. Only eat a small amount of it though or the excess calories you consume may outweigh the health benefits.

And to wash all this delicious food down, your best choices are water or green tea. Water is the number one beverage choice. We need it to hydrate the skin and wash toxins from our body. Not consuming enough water will lead to a tired, lethargic feeling and a less than glowing appearance. Drinking a cup or two a day of green tea daily is beneficial. Not only will it burn extra calories, it’s just plain good for you.

Make wise choices in your daily diet and you will be on the road to looking and feeling younger before you know it. And, as Martha Stewart would say, “That’s a good thing.”