Loving Right Now in Skin Care (Skincare Blog Post)

1. Avocado oil as eye makeup remover.

I used to use olive oil as eye makeup remover, because it's all-natural, and fought tough eye makeup mercilessly. However, olive oil has liquid-y consistency, and ran into eyes and blurred vision. 

Avocado oil is much thicker, and won't mess up your vision. It wipes off eye makeup with the same strength, and is all-natural and rich with nutrients as well.

Good-bye!

"Good-bye" are effective words to say.

Polite yet to-the-point.

After selling the townhouse, our old neighbors freaked when they learned about the new owners' plan to make it a rental. Within hours, we received about 10 emails, requesting new owners' info, who they might rent it to, how they can interview new renters to find neighbors they like...

"We'd rather have neighbors than renters," they said.

"Who do you think you are?"I said, in my head.

In my reply, though, I wrote to them "good-bye."

"Please kindly remove our addresses from future threads...whoever your new neighbors are, I'm sure you'll get to know them in due time...thank you...good-bye."

Good-bye. Period.

Cold and without emotion.

It's easy to act like that with people you care little for.

But good-bye didn't come easily with Anita.

Clean Eating Meal Plan - Start Your Week Right

Breakfast

Organic oatmeal with banana slices and cinnamon

Mid Morning Snack

Black bean tortilla chips with avocado slices

Lunch

Organic chicken sausage over organic quinoa pasta, with extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of sea salt and minced basil.

Afternoon Snack

Banana slices with Wild Friends Vanilla Espresso Almond Butter.

Dinner

Chicken salad made with diced broiled chicken breast, in mayo made with olive oil and plain Greek yogurt.

Dessert

Homemade blueberry sauce, with all-natural brown cane sugar, over Greek yogurt.

 

Don't forget to drink plenty of water, workout if you can, and get sufficient rest.

Have a wonderful and healthy Sunday!

I don't know! (fashion blog post)

"Wow! Your daughter is very logical."

Said my friend Alex*, with a bewildering surprise on her face, of our first daughter Jo.

"How can you tell?" I asked, "she's just a toddler."

At the time, Jo was a little over two.

"Because she said, 'I don't know.'" Alex replied, "I asked her a question. She thought about it, realized that she didn't know the answer, and said, 'I don't know.' Most kids just make up an answer."

From then on, my husband and I started noticing more of Jo's logical inclinations -- how she loses interest in reading, writing, art and math within a few minutes, but can work on mazes and puzzles for thrice as long; how she always argues with an if-then type of approach when negotiating for candies and ice-cream; and how she looks me in the eye and says, "mommy you're wrong" when I tease that beads are blueberries.

I'm not boasting -- my tone is matter-of-fact -- because Jo has shortcomings too, and I'm a firm believer that every child is smart and talented in their own way. I'm also a firm, firm believer that it's up to the parents to get to know a child, find and explore her talents, and encourage her to apply her talents toward a successful career that will better the world.

Anyway, that's my hope for the future. For right now, I'm just thankful to have found Jo's talent earlier on, so I have more time and preparedness to support her in what she wants to accomplish.

I'm also thankful that she's just a kid, without the bitter taste of a battered ego, who still has the audacity to admit when she doesn't know.

More people should say, "I don't know."

Your Chinese zodiac year - don't get screwed this time! (Fashion Blog Post)

Okay. Fine. You're not superstitious.

Neither am I. But considering all the bad luck that happened during my last zodiac year, I feel obligated to warn everyone.

What bad luck happened to you last time?