Transcendental Meditation

In the past few years I've noticed that I had become basically a nervous wreck. Worrying about things. What kind of things? You name it, I would worry about it! Dying of cancer, my kids getting sick my husband leaving, my house burning down, my kids being unhappy, my kids being kidnapped, my kids being hurt, bullied, sad, alone, my husband losing his job, having no money, losing my house, having to take the bus, not having the comfortable life that I had grown so accustomed to....Take a breath!....BUT...... honestly it didn't really matter because this wonderful life I had been living was actually feeling quite hellish anyway........... SO.... Even though I was only worrying about these things, things that hadn't come close to happening I was making my life so unbearable to live that I had to do something to help myself.

Not wanting to go on medication as that has been the solution to most of my problems. I wanted to feel better, enjoy my life, enjoy my 2 amazingly content(despite my crazies) beautiful daughters and my sexy as hell husband who literally adored me and would do anything in the world to make me smile and feel happy once again. Wait once again? Had I ever really felt that feeling of complete contentment. Sadly, NO!

Feeling so ashamed at this point that I had everything anyone would want to have and was unable to actually enjoy it I desperately searched for help. I started therapy which was the first thing that started to ease the crazies but I still needed something more. I know most of you mommies are sitting there thinking that it's normal to obsess about the welfare of your children but honestly my friends it's not. Life is for living and living free of the what if's, the what may's and the what would's is not a comfortable optimal state of being.

Yes, life sucks sometimes. It's been a year since Newtown and the deaths of those precious angels who had been gunned down by a maniac tortured sad sad soul. BREATH.....But, worrying every day about that happened to my kids, contemplating home school, shielding, protecting keeping them safe at home forever is not the answer. Trying to control life and manipulate everyone like a bunch of pieces in a game is also not the answer. I was making my life way too complicated and it was feeling like a jacket that is itchy and you want to throw out even though you spent a fortune on it.

Enter TM. Was is Tm you say? Well, TM stands for transcendental meditation. A from a meditating unlike any other kind. You don't concentrate, you don't try, you just simply learn this easy uncomplicated technique the easiest most simple thing you can imagine despite my trying, in the beginning to also complicate it. It cant be done. BREATH! I also wanted my whole family to do it but force I wouldn't do but suggest possibly, take along I felt was reasonable, so I brought my 13 year old daughter Bella to learn with me and she is actually like everything she does a star bc she is so uncomplicated and pure. So doing TM twice a day is quickly dissipating the crazies. I can't tell you how fortunate I feel to have learned this and to have been blessed with the ability to have this in my life. I am a new person. I am not nervous, anxious, worried, sad, upset, full of what ifs, what mays and what woulds. I truly believe from the bottom of my heart that the universe will take care of me and my family and that if I keep trying to be a better me, if I keep letting go of the need to control and manipulate, if I keep believing that life is not about worrying about everything that will never happen but for living happily ever after for today and appreciating the blissful angels that are my girls and husband and that I have them because I am a blissful angel who should have a happy blessed fortunate life free from the crazies.

If you are like I was and you feel you need a change, or you are fine with life, or if you are somewhere in between, also try this amazing form of meditation because you will be amazed at how much better your life becomes. I PROMISE! You can find a TM teacher at TM.org It will be the best investment you have ever made for yourself.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog!

Love,
XOXO

Beth

LOOK GOOD IN A BIKINI BY LEARNING HOW TO DO SIT UPS NOW

Doing sit-ups is a quick way to get stronger abdominal muscles. Start off with the basics and then try some modifications to the traditional sit up when you get stronger. 

1 Have your knees bent and the balls of your feet and heels placed flat on the ground. 

2 Place your hands on opposing shoulders, so that your arms are crossed over your chest, or behind your head. This allows you a central rising point. 

3 Tighten your abdominal muscles gently by drawing in your belly button to your spine. 

4 Keeping your heels on the ground and your toes flat to the ground, slowly and gently lift your head first, followed by your shoulder blades. Focus your eyes on your bent knees, all the while gently contracting the abdominal muscles. Pull up from the floor until you're at a ninety-degree angle, or when the elbows are on, or past, the knees. 

5 Hold the position for a second. Slowly bring the torso back to the floor but try to keep it slightly elevated off the ground. This means not to place your back flat to the ground but to keep a slight, yet relaxed, arch.

 Other types of sit ups 

1 Work the sides of your abs by doing oblique sit ups. 

2 Do bicycle sit ups to give your legs a workout as well. 

3 Target your lower abdominals by doing reverse crunches. 

4 Do sit ups with an exercise ball if you have back pain and want to minimize strain to your back. 

5 Do jack knife sit ups to workout your whole torso and your legs. 

6 Learn military sit ups if you want to put your abs through boot camp.

 I have been doing these every day for the past 2 weeks and already see a difference. My tummy is my hardest area to lose extra weight and I swear by this regimen. I hike 3 times a week with my friend and now i’m feeling really confident. 

Thanks,

XOXO

Beth

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The Stamps of Life by Stephanie Barnard

Hi Girls! I’ve been having the best time this summer with my new craft obsession. I have to share this with you girls. O.K. So here’s how it all started. I was surfing the web one day and came across this U tube video and fell in love with these awesome videos by The Stamps Of Life. The Stamps of Life is a company started by Stephanie Barnard who is also a spokesman for the awesome Sizzix company. She is part of their design team and also does product development. The Stamps of Life is her baby that she started after being in the business and being so creative, I mean creative like I’ve never seen before. Her stamps blow everyone else’s away. Me and my daughter Julia took up stamping this summer and it’s been like so awesome. Stephanie’s company has the most awesome stamps but in addition she also has a line of inks that  are manufactured by the company that makes Colorbox inks which are my favorite. The difference between her inks and everyone else’s is that they have no texture so the things you make are like flat and awesome. She also has coordinating die cuts. I bought this awesome Sizzix Bigkick 
which even though I have a silhouette I feel you need this because it’s more independent and you don’t need to plug into the computer. So to stamp with these adorable stamps, you  don’t need a die cut machine but you will have more fun and your creativity will be increased by having the ability to cut the shapes that you are stamping with TSOL. (The Stamps Of Life).Bought a Cuttlebug but wasn’t impressed.  They aren’t the same as the ones made by Sizzix. Trust me I had to return my Cuttlebug.

Here’s a gallery of card made with her products

Aren’t these incredible? So check out her website, consider being a club member like me because you get all these awesome goodies and discounts and the best part of this is that they are made in the USA. Yay.

I am not getting paid in any way for this products review. I just absolutely love these stamps. I am not an affiliate of this company.

Thanks all!

Love xoxo

Beth

BEST ROUTINE TO PREVENT/ CURE TEEN ACNE

I know I know, you have never had a pimple in your life but somehow your 12 year old daughter has  inherited your husband's genes when it comes to any yucky problems and honestly acne is a very yucky problem. It sucks big time. DO THIS RELIGOUSLY for beautiful skin. Be patient. It takes about 5-7 days for the most part to see a difference.
 MORNING CARE
Before starting this regImen, wash off any previous makeup with mario badescu's makeup remover which is not harsh and smells like clean clean clean. This way, these very special products will actually stand a chance!

Step one: wash your hands-for that matter washing hands is a given but Ineed to stress the great importance of it. Always start any make-up applying  tutorial or skin tutorial with clean hands.

Step two: Cleanse your face-
Mario Badescu's Acne Facial Cleanser-

take a cotton square and saturate with this cleanser and sooth skin thoroughly and then rinse off.

Step three: Tone your face-
Mario Badescu's glycolic grapefruit cleansing lotion- Smells like citrus surprise and I could drink it if it was permitted but please guys, don't drink!

Step Four Moisturize Your Face-
Mario Badescu's AHA & Ceramide Moisturizer-with SPF
I know i's hard to understand why moisturizer is vital but it is so please understand that this made the difference between the regimen working and it working like a dream.

NOW..........Go about your day UNTIL EVENING OR BEFORE BED!!!!!This means to remember to frequently wash your hands and please please please don't pick, touch, or do anything detrimental to this process working.

EVENING CARE
Step one: wash your hands-THOROUGHLY!!

Step two: Cleanse your face-
Mario Badescu's Acne Facial Cleanser-

Step three: Exfoliate your skin-
Dr. dennis gross- original formula alpha beta daily face peel. There's step one and step two which you apply each one after the previous one has dried and chuck wrappers in garbage, bang you're done!

Step four:Tone your face-
Mario Badescu's glycolic grapefruit cleansing lotion- same process as morning with clean cotton pads.

Step five: Serum your face-
Mario Badescu's Anti-Acne serum
This is sort of in place of moisturizing which needs to be done at night however my daughter is at camp and I couldn't make her do another step.

Step Six- Treat pimples- as needed
Apply Mario Badescu's drying lotion. It may seem tempting to want to shake the bottle because there is pink stuff at the bottom and clear stuff on top but don't and may I repeat, don't shake the bottle because the way this works is you take a q-tip and stick it in the un-shakened bottle and apply. Again you stick the q-tip in, getting both layers of medicine and no shaking and apply to pimples. You then are good to go and now you can dream about your perfect skin. I SWEAR BY THIS.!!!!! GOOD LUCK!!!!!

 XOXO beth

Writing your bat mitzvah speech

On the occasion of your Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremony you/your child will have to deliver a speech. For some kids that can be a really stressful anxiety producing event but I gathered some important tips from Chabad.org to help guide you through the process. Here are the basics: 1. The Intro Start by offering a warm welcome to everyone joining in the ceremony and celebration. You can also tell a relevant joke or funny story to warm up the crowd. 2. Learn from the Torah The most important part of your speech will be a d’var Torah, a story or idea from the weekly Torah portion. Try to choose one with a lesson connected to your bat mitzvah. Check out our real-life lessons from the weekly Torah portion written especially for the bat mitzvah speech. 3. Make it personal Next you’ll want to talk about what your bat mitzvah means to you. Describe the impact that becoming a Jewish adult will have on your life. What will you do to show your growing commitment to Judaism? This is a good place to mention a mitzvah project that you may have undertaken in honor of your bat mitzvah, or a good resolution you’ve made. 4. Roll the credits Now it’s time to thank those who helped you make it to this day. First up are your parents. You wouldn’t be here without them. Give them the credit they deserve. Don’t forget siblings, aunts and uncles . . . You know, the whole mishpachah. Special thanks should go to your grandparents. It’s likely that they made more than a few sacrifices to retain their Jewish identity and pass it on to their children and grandchildren. Next thank your rebbetzin or the teacher who helped you prepare for your bat mitzvah. Finally, a big shout-out to all the friends and family who came to share this moment with you. That’s it! Now stand back and let the applause wash over you . . . Tips and Suggestions: Make the speech your own, and incorporate your own feelings, attitudes, and experiences. Keep it snappy. It’s a very good idea to keep your speech between five and ten minutes long. Rehearse your speech many times in the weeks and days before your bat mitzvah. Ask your friends and family members to act as your audience while you practice. Your speech is an opportunity to show your maturity and insight to your friends and family. Make sure they can hear and understand every word. Stand up straight, and speak slowly and clearly. Keep in mind that you always sound faster than you think. Fight nervousness by taking several deep breaths before you begin your speech. Make eye contact with your guests as you impart each thought. Mazal tov and good luck! I hope this helps!! xoxo beth

traditions

When I was 12 0r 13 my mom decided we would have an annual tradition of celebrating my birthday in a special and unique way and because we lived on Long island, going into NYC was 45 minutes away by car or train making it very accessible. Every birthday she would take me shopping to a special store and we ‘d have lunch in a cool place. One birthday we went to Boyd Chemists and then to Henri Bendels shopping. It was a birthday I’d never ever forget because she bought me my first set of makeup and then we went shopping in a store that ended up being my favorite place to go for years to come. One of Manhattan's chicest shopping environments, Henri Bendel is a girls' candy store, where ladies go to find the new and the next in accessories, cosmetics, gifts and fashion. Since 1895 signature brown and white striped Henri Bendel shopping bags have been spotted on the arms of stylish young women all around NY and around the world. Bendel's luxury heritage and eye for the new, has made shopping there a rite of passage for elite young women for more than 100 years In April 2009 Henri Bendel stopped carrying apparel, choosing instead to focus on fashion accessories, cosmetics, and gift items such as candles. This place is special and if you ever have the opportunity to go to NY you need to experience this wonderful place. Since they have decided to nix fashion I have not tired in my love for this place. One of my favorite places to go in Bendels is on the second floor artisanparfumeur. 

It has such fine wonderful fragrances that are some of my favorites.

Where am I going with all of this?

Well, my friend and I decided to take our daughters, both 11 in to the city to Bendels and get them makeovers and we ended up buying them perfume and we had one of the best days ever.

After that we went to see Jersey Boys which was so fantastic. I actually would love to see it again. We went to the Stardust Diner for dinner before the show which was a really fun time too. We got talked into traveling via bicycle taxi to the diner which my friend and I were not really too thrilled about but we both ended up laughing our asses off. 

Anyway my point to this post is that I feel really good about having carried over the traditions my mom started with me which really shaped a big part of who I am today.  She always tried to instill in me the importance of experiencing culture but also how important it is to have style, grace, polish, charm good manners, refinement and class. 

I have tried to do the same for my daughters Isabella and Julia. Julia is 6 so she is young but Isabella, being 11 is such an example to me of a young woman (almost) who has everything I can ever want my daughter to possess and more. She has her flaws but she is perfect to me because she has charisma that makes people turn around when she enters a room. And the best part is she has absolutely no clue how breathtakingly gorgeous, sweet and amazing she is. She is humble, kind and charming and I am so proud. I was smiling with pride yesterday as one person after the other kept complementing Isabella on her beauty but also her poise too. I felt like I had a lot to do with the young lady she is today just as my mom did for me when I was her age. I guess the point of my ADD, where is she going with this is.....Please take the time to share special moments with your daughters and or sons. You will totally enjoy sitting back and watching your efforts come alive in your amazing kids as I did. What’s better than that?

Xo Beth