The eternal search for the perfect makeup. I'm sure it's not over but I really like Olay Definity Color Recapture. It's a light, easy makeup so if you prefer heavy coverage, don't look here. On the other hand, if you just want a little color to smooth things out but like the feeling of no makeup, this may be the product for you. SPF 15 means you get a little sun protection in the mix though probably not enough. Olay Definity is also a moisturizer, which accounts for the cool two-tone swirl in the tube; half makeup/half moisturizer.
I love the packaging. There is absolutely no product waste. This is a picture of my last one when it was finally empty. Have you ever seen such a clean tube? You get every drop! It also lasts a long time so I haven't bought any in a while. I just did a little online price check and it seems to be running around $25 a tube these days. Buy a two-pack at Sam's and save a few dollars. Split the two-pack with someone else and save a little more!
Fragrance free, UVA/UVB, comes in fair/light, light/medium and medium/dark. This is not a requested product endorsement, just me writing about a product I use and like!
I was recently contacted by someone from the Alzheimer’s Association who asked me to help spread the word about advances and needs in the area of Alzheimer’s research. I was happy to agree. Some of these facts and figures come from their website – alz.org.
Anyone in mid-life or beyond is aware and worrying about Alzheimer’s disease. Either we’re going to get it, we’re going to be caring for our parents when they get it or someone else we know and love is going to be struggling with it. In fact as many as 10 million baby boomers will develop Alzheimer’s, with one new diagnosis made every 69 seconds. We have a reason to be worried.
Alzheimer’s is the only one of the top ten causes of death in America with neither prevention, cure nor even a way to slow its progression. Alzheimer’s takes everything away from its victims; slowly stripping their autonomy and independence and finally taking their lives.
I have a relative who is dealing with this terrible disease right now. She’s in the stage where she knows she has it, knows what is in store for her and know there’s nothing she can do about it. She’s single and currently getting her affairs in order, selling her house, finding a care facility and just generally arranging things so she won’t be a burden to her children. I haven’t seen her in a long time but I remember her as young and fun and vibrant. It’s heartbreaking.
This information comes from PubMed - Some risk factors for Alzheimer’s include:
Age and family history
•As you get older, your risk of developing AD goes up. However, developing Alzheimer's disease is not a part of normal aging.
•Having a close blood relative, such as a brother, sister, or parent who developed AD increases your risk.
•Having certain combinations of genes for proteins that appear to be abnormal in Alzheimer's disease also increases your risk.
Other risk factors that are not as well proven include:
•Longstanding high blood pressure
•History of head trauma
•Female gender
From the National Institute on Aging’s fact sheet on Alzheimer’s –
Lifestyle Factors
A nutritious diet, physical activity, social engagement and mentally stimulating pursuits can all help people stay healthy. New research suggests the possibility that these factors also might help to reduce the risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease. Scientists are investigating associations between cognitive decline and vascular and metabolic conditions such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity. Understanding these relationships and testing them in clinical trials will help us understand whether reducing risk factors for these diseases may help with Alzheimer’s as well.
To find out more about Alzheimer’s clinical trials and the importance of participating, talk to your health care provider or contact NIA’s ADEAR Center at 1-800-438-4380. Or, visit the ADEAR Center clinical trials database at www.nia.nih.gov/Alzheimers/ResearchInformation/ClinicalTrials. You also can sign up for email alerts that let you know when new clinical trials are added to the database. More information about clinical trials is available at www.ClinicalTrials.gov. Also see Participating in Alzheimer’s Disease Clinical Trials and Studies at www.nia.nih.gov/Alzheimers/Publications/trials-studies.htm.
A Woman’s Nation Takes on Alzheimer’s
Sargent Shriver, advisor to two presidents and founder of the Peace Corps, died in January of this year with Alzheimer’s.His daughter Maria Shriver says we should all be terrified.She’s right.
So what can we do?See if we’re eligible to participate in a clinical trial.Clinical trials help increase the amount of information and are an invaluable research tool.Donate to Alzheimer’s research.Ask our congressional representatives to get behind Alzheimer’s research funding.Get educated.
This is a guest post by Kate Manning who is a business major who has worked under others and as a self-employed entrepreneur. She currently owns and manages her own business in Washington state.
There a time when a solid business education focused on arts in management, human resources and managerial accounting. Similarly, aspiring business leaders working toward obtaining an online MBA might also have focused on competing in the international marketplace. However, since about 2005, there has been a growing movement that has led to the curriculum inclusion of the fundamentals of (and thinking behind) modern environmental issues and stewardship. As such, this new development has caused many people in the business world to question whether it is just a fad, a case of greenwashing or a movement that will define tomorrow’s business community.
It is fair to say that the rumblings of corporate environmental consciousness have been brewing for years, if not decades, but the actual inclusion of these tenets into a curriculum made news in 2005. The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business received plenty of attention when it combined its standard MBA programs with coursework in “social and environmental issues.” Hailed as a visionary move, this break from traditional business training showed that competing in a global economy now demands a new skill from would-be business leaders of tomorrow: green thinking.
Whether a business manufactures widgets, provides services and goods to companies that make widgets or is simply in the business of marketing companies that make or sell said widgets, a constantly renewed and re-defined corporate reality now demands a solid grounding in environmental stewardship. Smoke-belching factories may have been lucrative in the past, but they no longer pass muster. Companies that receive bad press for being energy wasters and water polluters will have an uphill battle to repair a soiled image. Indeed, there is a good chance that a sufficiently reckless record may adversely affect the continued business of any corporation that fails to meet or exceed basic environmental rules and expectations.
The latter issue further charts the course for the greener market: inter-company competition no longer only demands one business to outshine another by making it’s products bigger, better and cheaper – a business must now also learn how to make it’s products greener. Thus only business students, who are taught the ground rules of green stewardship, can hope to take the companies they found, run or work for into the next century.
However these professionals must be on guard against accusations of greenwashing, which are almost as damning as being numbered among the polluters. For example, consider that a company in business of selling flooring materials makes the move to introduce sustainable flooring lines, such as bamboo. The main benefits of bamboo flooring are that it is not only sustainable but is also highly durable. As such, this type of material demands top dollar. If it comes to light that the company has been receiving the raw materials for the flooring from a business that uses high-emission trucks to bring the loads from the other side of the continent, it is likely the company will be accused of greenwashing and perhaps of even deceiving its consumers with “green” claims.
Could the company have known that its supplier was a polluter? Maybe so. Should the business have made the effort to find out? Absolutely! Yet only the business professional who is trained in modern environmental issues will think of these possible ramifications, know how to avoid them and in so doing foster solid business relationships with vendors, suppliers and the public.
Termed a “shifting mindset,” the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education examined possible training scenarios for MBA students back in 2007. It pits the (what it terms “neoclassical”) denatured business against the up and coming competitor that seeks profitability beyond the short term. It is clear that the old way of doing business will, to a point, continue to be profitable for the huge corporations that currently span the globe. However, it is not a sustainable business model for the start-ups and even the midsized businesses that may dominate one local market. In fact, the companies that voluntarily and advisedly place environmentally conscious professionals in decision-making positions may woo consumers away from the big old-timers.
Certainly, fiscal success of this kind cannot come at a lavish expense to the customer. Although conditioned to think green, the customer also knows that some products are just not worth twice the money for the sake of being manufactured in an environmentally ethical manner. It is at this juncture that solid business training and sustainable business practices must mesh to break new ground. As such, tomorrow’s well-rounded corporate leaders are tasked with seeking alternatives to high-priced resources and offering fiscal incentives to entice the consumer into the purchase of a more expensive service, all the while marketing the product to be irresistible.
It is fair to take this scenario one step further. If all the new yellow product makers in Any Town, U.S. focus on sustainable practices while delivering a competitively priced product that is as attractive as the competition’s, the corporations that do business under the old model will soon find their appeal waning. Over the course of a few short years, the reputation of Any Town’s yellow product makers is sure to spread to other cities, where their local companies must either follow suit or be driven out of business by the quickly expanding corporations. From there it is only a hop, skip and a jump to see the worldwide potential of the sustainable business movement. Yet do not be deceived! Other countries are just as mindful of the green market as America’s businesses.
It stands to reason that the policy of training up tomorrow’s business leaders to also be on the forefront of sustainable practices is a sound one. In fact, the Aspen Institute-sponsored 2010 Business & Society International MBA Case Competition highlights this very line of reasoning through its “international management challenges.” Of course, the next question the savvy business owner or educator must ask is just as poignant: is it wise to wait until the graduate level to teach business students the intricacies of sustainable practices, green marketing and ethical environmentalism?
I published a little video on Saturday about volunteering at the Wildlife and Education Center here in Houston. I love the WR&E and although I’m exhausted when I come home, the days I spend there are endlessly rewarding.
Right now we have 650 animals at the center, all of who need to be fed and have their cages cleaned daily. The majority of them are babies who have to be fed multiple times a day. It’s a huge task that would not be completed if it weren’t for all the dedicated volunteers.
While we certainly value all life, different animals strike a chord with different people. Although I love feeding the babies, for me the raptors are the wow animals. We always have a number of hawks, falcons and owls plus the occasional eagle. On the other hand I have a hard time with the baby opossums, which I suspect has to do with all the time I spent waging war on them when I had chickens on the farm in Virginia. “Liking” the WR&E Facebook page keeps me in touch with neat new animals that come in on days that I’m not there. They just posted about three little river otters someone brought in and I can’t wait to see them!
(Went in yesterday and here they are!)
We mostly deal with native Texas wildlife and unlike the animals next door at the Houston ASPCA; the WR&E animals are not up for adoption. The one thing we do need is a place to release them when they’re ready to go. We frequently have injured ducks and geese that come to us from various public ponds in the Houston area. When their rehabilitation is complete, ideally we want to release them onto private ponds.
I have a friend back home whose son and daughter-in-law live on some acreage a couple of hours northwest of Houston. I approached them about taking some ducks and they generously agreed to take all five that we had ready. I had a friend visiting from Virginia who gamely agreed to “take a little ride” so we went by the center, loaded up the ducks and headed out. In spite of what you might imagine they quiet right down and travel pretty well.
When we arrived we carried the kennels down to the water’s edge. After a little coaxing all five ducks were out and in the water. You might not be able to imagine duck joy but we saw it. After weeks of living in small, fenced enclosures while they healed, the ducks flapped and swam and ducked under the water again and again. These were some happy ducks! I recently received an email from my friend’s daughter-in-law thanking me for the joy that the ducks have brought into their life.
The great duck release!
It was a very rewarding experience and it didn’t stop there. This woman talked about the ducks to friends who also have acreage with water and suddenly I had more duck requests than I had ducks! Last week I took two ducks and two geese to Bastrop, Texas. When I arrived I found another excited family. Another successful release followed and more happy animals were once again out in the world. These people have since agreed to take in a peacock that we happen to have.
If you would like to work with animals, Google wildlife rehabilitators in your area and see if they need your help. You won’t regret it!
Since I’ve been in Houston I’ve become very involved with St. Martin’s Episcopal Church.It’s a beautiful church with a large membership.One of the blessings of a large, active congregation is that there is always something going on.In addition to attending services and going to bible study I knit with the knitting group, work out in the weight room, take yoga classes, belong to a book group; I’m over there a lot!
I recently participated in a new member class with the rector, Dr. Russell Levenson, Jr., who steers the big ship that is St. Martin’s.Southern, charismatic, entertaining; he’s a pretty neat guy.He talked to our class about getting involved at St. Martin’s.He encouraged us not only to attend services but also to choose one or more of the many outreach programs and activities and jump in.There is so much happening, he said, that we should all be able to find a place for ourselves.
He related that occasionally a new member will surprise him by saying that they’ve been going to church, going to Sunday school, attending bible study, etc., but that they just don’t feel that they fit in.His message to us was that with a congregation of about 9,400 people, you couldn’t just come every week, sit in the back, keep your mouth shut and expect to find a place.“Sometimes”, he said, “you have to raise your hand.”
I was really struck by that statement.“Sometimes you have to raise your hand” is a perfect lesson not only for church but also for life. If we feel like we’re not making connections with other people and can’t figure out why, maybe it's because we're not raising our hand.Going to meetings, going to work, volunteering, running errands, going to church and school are all opportunities to meet people but if we keep our heads down, never saying anything (except possibly on our cell phones) then we’re not really opening ourselves up to the people around us.We’re present but we’re not active.
It’s hard to put ourselves out there but I’m making a pact with myself, and if you’re feeling isolated in your community I hope you’ll join me.Henceforth I will speak up at meetings and other events and make a contribution.I will greet the people around me.I will use blocks of free time to engage with others, not to check my e-mail.I will make the effort to remember things people tell me about themselves and their lives and comment upon them the next time we meet.These after all, are the initial building blocks of friendship. Awkward as it sometimes feels, I will speak up.I will raise my hand.
What about you?Are you willing?Can you think of opportunities where you can start speaking up?Let’s see if it works.Get out there, get active, and raise your hand!
The friend whose house I'm looking after has been in town for a few days and had a small dinner party Friday night. These easy and delicious appetizers were my contribution. There were only six of us so I halved these amounts, which resulted in 15 pieces (I sliced the bread much thinner than the recipe calls for).
1 loaf crusty French bread
1 cup apple butter 16 thin slices prosciutto, about 1/4 pound 2 pears or apples, thinly sliced 1 pound Brie, thinly sliced Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Cut 16 (1/2-inch thick) slices out of the loaf and put them onto a baking sheet. Spread 1 tablespoon of apple butter onto each slice. Top this with 1 slice of prosciutto and 3 or 4 slices of pear or apple. Cover this with the Brie slices, season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil. Bake until the cheese is melted, about 8 to 10 minutes.
I also brought some stuffed Peppadews. Peppadews are a pickled sweet piquante pepper from South Africa. You can find them jarred but if you get them from the olive bar at the grocery store you can pick and choose and make sure you get solid ones with a good cavity for stuffing. They come whole and already hollowed out so they're easy to put together. I like to fill them with softened goat cheese, using a pastry bag with a star tip but you can put anything you want in there. They're beautiful on the plate.
A reader just brought to my attention that the first appetizer appears on the Food Network website as a Tyler Florence recipe. I got it from a friend but he can certainly have the credit!
Oh poor lonely blog, I've not been a very good steward lately! It didn't take long for me to become completely enmeshed in Houston life. Here's one place I spend a great deal of my time -
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