People who read me know I am interested in skin care. This interest led me to Paula Begoun known in the cosmetics and skin care industry as the "cosmetics cop." She evaluates all new products out today scientifically and gives you the real deal on them. Below is a modified list of her best new skin care products for 2005...see if yours is here! I will do another blog about the best make up of 2005 soon! I took out a few that were only sold in spas so it wouldn't be so long....but if...

I picked up an old Sci-Fi book at the library a few days ago.   One of the characters in the book is dying with a “terminal illness.”   Her husband is standing outside the door of the hospital room and hears her conversing with someone inside.   That “someone” is offering her the opportunity to get well, be totally healed.   The catch is, someone must die in her place.   She is promised it will not be someone she knows.   She ref...

When I read good reviews from a trusted professional I like to share them.  Saves money. L'Oreal   Volume Shocking Mascara ($12.95) is shocking, at least if you're used to lackluster or natural-look mascaras! This two-step mascara includes a Lash Defining Base Coat and a Volume Constructing Top Coat. The Base Coat is a white "primer" whose formula is similar to that of most mascaras, minus the pigment. It nicely separates and lengthens lashes, but things really get excit...

This is a part of a letter I get every month.  I've mentioned Paula before, but her reply to this readers letter is why I TRUST her opinion on all my skin care. I buy some from www.paulaschoice.com the BEST moisturizers! Dear Paula, As much as I have enjoyed certain aspects of your bulletins, I do find them to be too negative about many products that I have used throughout the years. I can tell you from experience that there are many products that have been extremely helpful i...

In my previous article http://lifehappens.joeuser.com/index.asp?AID=117222 I tried to show the faux finish on my dining room wall....but for some reason the photo was not turning out like the wall actually looks.  I took Jon's advice and used natural light, turning off the flash....sounds easy but I read for an hour before learning how to do it.....shesh. Here is the best I can do for now.   

When I was sixteen I worked at Ponderosa. For those of you unfamiliar with “the Rosa” let me elaborate on the experience of working there in the mid 80’s. Ponderosa was a steak house with an old west theme. You walk in, get a tray, place your steak order, and move your tray on down the line, cafeteria style, toward the cashier. On the way you see the chef cooking up his steaks on the grill and other employees preparing your food. Beside the chef you see the baked...

“Dat skitto is getting my honey,”   so said my three year old tonight while a mosquito bit him no less than four times while he sat and watched.   He won’t kill any small flying insect because in his mind they all bite or sting.   Better to run screaming, “A Fwy!   A Fwy!”   He is so funny, and sees the world in such a unique way.   When angry with his brother I hear, “You a peanut head!”   I took the boys to Coney Island last week. &...

In Niagara Falls there is a street called "fun strip."  It has everything you could want to see and some things you don't heh.  Wax museums, Ripley's Believe It or Not, Ferris Wheel, Hard Rock Café, you name it.  Totally commercial and really has little to do with the falls.  Heh. But it wasn't a total tourist trap...I got to meet Tiger Woods and my Aunt chatted with the Pope.  Pics below. Here are some photos of our day on fun strip. ...

  Does your face break out for no reason?  Dry out?  Here is Paula's latest cosmetic ingredients do's and don'ts. If there is one cosmetics industry buzzword that gets almost immediate consumer attention, it's "natural." Whatever preconceived or media-induced fiction someone might believe about natural ingredients being better for the skin has no factual basis or scientific legitimacy. Not only is the definition of "natural" hazy, but the term isn't even regulated, ...

So I was reading Dharma's recent adventures in candy making.  http://dharmagrl.joeuser.com/index.asp?AID=136869 And had an idea. Would anyone be interested in baking cookies, or fudge, or whatever confection they like for the holidays and doing a JU swap? We could get a list of names together of people who want to participate and "draw names" that way each person will only mail one package. What do you think? Anyone game?

Today the mail woman rang my door bell.   I opened the door, and the bitter cold draft biting my toes was forgotten upon observing she was holding a box with my name on it.   I’m sure people all over the country are opening front doors to the mailman, the UPS man, the Fed Ex Guy.   But for me, opening the door and finding a package with my name on it (that I didn’t order and pay for), well, it’s like CHRISTMAS.   I received my cookie swa...

    Last night I dreamed.     There were two tribes of people.   Believers and non believers, not necessarily in the Christian sense.   It was more generic, less Jesus.   The believers consisted of a variety of people who followed God.   Each person was in different stages, levels, heights of belief.   The non believers consisted of a wide range, from really good people (who just didn’t follow God), all the way down...

Check this out.  Scared the crap outta me.  

I was covered in dirt today (tilling flower beds and moving dirt) when a Col who works with my hubby pulled up to deliver these..... It was such a nice surprise.  I used to tell my husband not to get me flowers, it was a waste of money since they just die.  Now I cherish every bloom. So to all the mom's on JU, I want to share these with you. Happy Mother's Day.  

Is it just me or did spring totally skip out this year?   Just when it started warming up and things began turning green, it turned bitter cold, killing all the buds and many perennials which were already poking their heads out.   Then, BAM, last week we were close to 90.   And since the rain is missing us, everyone’s lawns are already going dormant (read brown) in MAY!   This may not seem like a big deal to anyone else, but it is to me.   Yesterday...