12/28/12

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lately...

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Before I start can I preface this with...ummm, do you see this adorable little one above?! That's our niece Olivia. She's my Brother Richard's daughter and she seems to have this face on for the majority of the day. More about her in a minute. I'll bring you guys briefly up to speed on my Holiday etc...

Once again, Christmas has passed in a blink. My whole family keeps saying that they can't believe that Christmas even happened. But I have to admit that the past few days have been quite abnormal for my entire family. My parent's came to visit almost two weeks ago. They wanted to check in on us post hurricane Sandy and my dad gave us some advice and input pertaining to the repairs needed in our home.

So, after their regular scheduled visit they then made the 6 plus hour drive back to their place way in upstate NY. But upon arrival up there my dad got the call that his mom, my Nana, had passed away. So they had to make a very somber drive right back down here. And since I'm trying to keep this brief and light I'll skip any talk of what was obviously a sad time for everyone in my family. But I will say that despite the circumstances it was a blessing to see all of my loved ones together in one place over the past couple of days.

Ok, now that my parent's are back down here they are staying through the New Year and we'll be getting together with everyone over at my brother Richard's place...which is the home of...you guessed it...this little adorable ball of jumping joy known as Olivia!

This little munchkin really keeps us smiling. She is so much fun to be around. Always happy...such a good baby. My parent's are on cloud 9 with her. And so are my brother and his girl.

As I've been saying ad nauseam...it's been so so cold here!! And I don't mean here in New Jersey...because that goes without saying...but here in my home! The storm left us barren under our floorboards after flood waters washed the insulation out. And something screwy is going on with our heating system. We can't even stand to be downstairs for more that a few minutes at a time.

So we were So excited when these two fabulous gents from Speedy showed up! They really lived up to their name and by midday we had new foam insulation filling our crawlspace. And we are lucky because these guys are friends of my brother Walt...if this wasn't the case we'd never ever have gotten an appointment with them. They are booked solid with all the storm ravaged homes in our area.

We are still cold due to the heating system being on the fritz...but at least the floors beneath our feet are above freezing temperature. We have so so much to do to our home to make it a comfortable living space. It will be a long road. We've got big celebrating to do for New Years, because despite how bad it is...it could have been way worse. And that seems to be the spirit with everyone around here. You really wouldn't believe the resiliency of the New Jersey Shore. We'll all be kicking into high gear in the New Year!

I look forward to taking some time over this weekend to catch up on my fave blogs to see how everyone's Holidays went over.

And as usual, I'll do my best to keep you posted. xo, Jenny

Summer Shimmer

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GET SET TO SPARKLE FOR THE NEW YEAR
with these expert tips on how to pull off shimmering highlighter...

(Seriously, you'll be amazed at the difference these tips will make!!!!)

Let skin glow. For a subtle sheen, mix a pea-size drop of highlighter with foundation in your palm before applying. The right shade leaves only a glow on the skin—as opposed to depositing colour. Usually, this means silvery pink for fair skin, golden tints for olive skin, and bronze highlighter for dark skin.

Define your cheekbones. Apply a shimmery powder with a big, fluffy brush to just the highest point of your cheekbones, and blend. Remember to apply it after blush, so your cheeks aren't lighter than the rest of your face.

Strike a balance. If your makeup plan involves strong, smoky eyes, highlighter can add a radiance to your skin that will keep you from looking too goth. Try dusting a shimmering nude powder on the cheekbones, chin, and above the bow of the mouth for a look that's “an extreme version of natural.”

Brighten your eyes. For wide-open eyes, use a thin brush to dab a light, a shimmery shadow into the inner corners of your eyes. Then, keeping the brush as close to the lower lash line as possible, drag it outward to create a very thin line.

Pucker up. Highlighter can even give lipstick a boost. I Choose a highlighter close to your skin tone, with just a hint of shimmer. Apply a dot on your lips, spread it with your finger, and then swipe on a layer of your lipstick. Use a lip brush to add more of either product for your desired shade.

Don't forget the rest. A touch of shimmer isn't just for your face: you can also massage a dot of pearlized cream into the shoulders and collarbones - focus on the tops of the bones so it looks like the light is catching them. For a finishing touch, slather your legs with tinted moisturiser and runs highlighter down the shin bones.

Melissah xox

{Pic: Bella Mumma / Source: Allure}

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Go Slow and Don't Yo-Yo! (When it comes to weight loss)

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It’s the beginning of a New Year, and we all know that means tons of New Year’s resolutions, which typically revolve around losing weight, starting an exercise program, and/or trying to eliminate unhealthy habits. Too many people give up on healthy eating and exercise during December and give themselves the freedom to gain a few pounds during the holidays. Many think: “Oh I will just lose the weight in January.” While you may be the type of person that knows you will be successful at losing the weight come January, you are also probably like the majority of people that end up gaining back that weight by the following December (since you know for a fact you can lose it- you must have lost, regained, and lost before, right?). If you think a few pound weight fluctuation isn’t a big deal, think again! A new study out of Wake Forest found that post-menopausal women who lose weight and gain some (even just a mere 5 lbs!) of it back increase their risk for heart disease and diabetes.

In the study, 80 obese women lost 25 pounds on average over 5 months, which significantly improved their cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes risk factors. A year later, 2/3 of the women had regained at least 4 lbs, with most of them regaining over 17 pounds. The researchers found that for women who regained just some weight returned to their baseline level of risk factors for CVD, and specifically, diabetes risk factors got worse- and they didn’t even regain ALL the weight they initially lost! Daniel Beavers, one of the researchers for the study stated:

Women who regained 4.4 pounds or more in the year following the weight-loss intervention had several worsened cardiovascular and diabetes risk factors [. . .] What was striking about the women who regained weight was that although they did not return to their full baseline weight on average -- women only regained about 70 percent of lost weight -- several chronic disease risk factors were right back at baseline values and in some cases, particularly for the diabetic risk factors, slightly worse than baseline values [. . .] Meanwhile, women who maintained their weight loss a year later managed to preserve most of the benefits.

So, the message is clear: if you are going to lose weight, you better be 100% motivated to stick with that lifestyle forever. You need to change your eating and exercise habits to keep the weight off for good, or you may end up just hurting yourself in the end (by getting diabetes or having a heart attack!). There are even studies showing that when people lose and regain, more of that weight gained back is fat as compared to the baseline level.This is yet more proof why diets don’t work!

My recommendation: Vow never to give yourself permission to gain weight or to go on “a diet” again. You must be committed to following a healthy lifestyle and keeping the weight off for good. Try to maintain your weight during holidays and vacations, and do not lose weight if you are not 100% devoted to keeping it off. If you think rationally, it just doesn’t make sense that it would be okay to overindulge and be sedentary for a period of time, then soon after to go on a strict diet and exercise regime. Extremes are never healthy, so practice “everything in moderation” and ask yourself whether you are really motivated to change your lifestyle FOR GOOD!

References:

Daniel Beavers, Ph.D., assistant professor, department of biostatistics, Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, N.C.; Gregg Fonarow, M.D., spokesman, American Heart Association, and professor, cardiology, University of California, Los Angeles; Samantha Heller, M.S., R.D., exercise physiologist and clinical nutrition coordinator, Center for Cancer Care, Griffin Hospital, Derby, Conn.; Dec. 13, 2012,Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, online

Reinberg, Stephen. "Yo-Yo Dieting Can Hurt the Heart, Study Finds." Yo-Yo Dieting Can Hurt the Heart, Study Finds. HealthDay, 13 Dec. 2012. Web. 20 Dec. 2012.