The F word

Fear.

It is easy to allow it to dictate my pace. 

Thing is, Fear, you are not only relative, you are damn haphazard. There is no formula really that can let me know when you are going to stick your ugly head and upset my apple kart or worse, just plain old embarrass me. 

I have experienced you in both the known and the unknown. In the thought of being both noticed and unnoticed, recognized or not recognized. In being successful or not being successful. Therefore, if I allow you, Fear, to control me, I can never win and I will always lose. 

When I analyze it, turns out that you are really nothing more than a perception; an outcome of what I ‘believe’ to be a possible turn of events, as I usually do not Fear what I have accomplished or overcome but what will come or what is left to do.

I am aware that my ‘perception’ of the outcome of these events, can be skewed based on a number of factors, not limited to my stress level, my guilt, lack of sleep or of course my pride, all of which I create, of which I am in control of. 

So when I really think about it, Fear,  it  comes down to one of two things.  It’s either  going to be you, or it is going to be me. Just one of us will win, the other will lose. As I am no loser, that does not leave much space for you now does it.

Seeing that I have just admitted that you are a figment of my imagination, I can choose to ignore you. And as I am fully capable of making that choice, I will. I am. I just did.

So whatevs; On to the next one. I refuse to be bullied by something that doesn’t even exist. 

F you.

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Skin Care | “Skin Vitamins”

Antioxidants.

How do they work and why are they an important part of an ‘anti-aging’ skin care system?

Simply put, antioxidants are substances that protect the skin against the damaging effect of free radicals,  i.e. unstable atoms that are generated by:

- Sunlight (UVA & UVB radiation)
- Pollution
- Smoke
- Stress
- Certain foods
- Drugs
- Exercise, etc. 

The presence of these free radicals not only assist causing disease, but they also accelerate the skin’s aging process. Antioxidants are substances that increase the body’s (or in this case the skin’s) defense against the damaging effect of free radicals. 

With the understanding that exposure to the sun accounts for 80% of the aging that we can prevent on our skin, it would seem that addressing this issue alone can go a long way to preserving the face we have for a few more years. 

Think it’s all hogwash? Maybe. 

How do ‘antioxidants’ work? 

Well, let’s see. Perhaps the best analogy would be the case of the apple.

Slice an apple in half. Leave one half exposed to the atmosphere for a few minutes and the other half you sprinkle some lemon juice on. What would happen?

You will notice a browning colour starting to appear on the exposed inner parts of the part of the apple .

However, what would happen if you were to drizzle some lemon juice over the other half of the apple and let it sit for a while? The result? Nada.

The original colour of the sliced apple is preserved, enabling you to still serve it to your guests after having it sit out for some time, or have your kids actually eat the apple at school rather than throw it away because it was ‘rotten’.

This browning process is called oxidation, and it’s the same thing happens to silver, or almost any other metal that is exposed to the atmosphere (the mixture of water and oxygen primarily) over time. Rust, for example, is the extreme case of a metal that’s been oxidized. Your skin is no different. Like the lemon, antioxidants in skin care assist in slowing down this ‘oxidzation’, which accelerates aging. 

Gold, platinum and palladium do not oxidize at room temperature, which is the reason they are used in jewelry and electronics. Stainless steel, titanium, tantalum and niobium are highly resistant to oxidation… not sure how I traveled so far on this tangent, so let me hop off here. 

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Back to the skin, this is not to say that you ought to put lime or lemon juice directly on your skin of course. Well you can, but that wouldn’t be very intelligent.

Lemon juice may work for the apple, but it is much more acidic than the natural pH of the skin’s surface. The skin’s natural barrier would be degraded leaving your skin more prone to, among a host of other things, increased dehydration (less moisture) and inflammation (more redness/ sensitivity) in skin, both of which accelerate the skin’s aging, which will bring you to square negative five (-5). 

So, as I said, not very intelligent move. 

However, Vitamin C is a very powerful, common antioxidant. So how can we capitalize it’s effect on our skin?

With the understanding that the Vitamin C that is freshly squeezed out of an orange breaks down before you can top up your tumbler and add that umbrella, a more stable form of Vitamin C needs to be packaged for use in skin care products. 

Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate (MAP) is a very stable form of Vitamin C, stable enough to be used in skincare. After all, we’ve all been told to up our Vitamin C intake to prevent the common cold, and to boost our immune system in general. 

In the same way, you can have  vitamins for the skin. These “Skin Vitamins” can be thought of as Antioxidants. 

Ingredients, Ingredients, Ingredients.

Some of the best antioxidant ingredients found in skin care (and their cosmetic ingredient names) are:

- White Tea (the most powerful) or Green tea (Camellia Sinensis)
- Soy (Glycine Soya Protein)
- Vitamin C (Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate and other Ascorbic Acid derivatives)
- Vitamin E (Tocopheryl Acetate)
- Licorice (Glycyrrhiza) 

The presence of any of the above in your skin care products, hopefully as one of the first few ingredients rather than the last, will assist in the fight against the damaging free radicals that your skin encounters from day to day. 

Because free radicals are also found inside the body, having a diet loaded with antioxidant foods will assist you immune system in general. And, as you thought I’d say, don’t forget the sunscreen, a minimum of SPF 15 daily.

b FiercelyFabulous.

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Photo: graur razvan ionut / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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Are you wearing protection?

Ever see someone your age and wonder if he/she was REALLY in class with you? I mean like seriously? You either look like their youngest child, or their grandparents. What’s even more ‘wtf?’ is when you see an 18 year old who looks more like… 30tylate at best. What’s happening here?

‘Exposed’ aging y’alls. The result is far from fab as this right here is a first class ticket to looking twice your age.

So what is ‘exposed’ aging and how does it differ from ‘unexposed’ aging?

Unexposed Aging.

This is often referred to as ‘aging gracefully’. The grandparent for example, who doesn’t look like a 20 year old spring chicken obviously, but clearly looks ‘better than’ most in his/ her ‘age’ bracket.

It this is largely the skin that has been protected from UV rays. Unexposed aging comprises of:

- Thin, smooth skin
- Fine lines and wrinkles, usually associated with superficial dehydration and light diagonal lines
- Inelastic, saggy skin
- Skin is usually ‘dryer’ (less oily) than skin was 20 years ago
- Growths on the skin are usually benign rather than malignant, and are associated with aging rather than photo-aging.

And this is unexposed aging. Ready for the exposed aging?

Exposed aging

Exposed aging refers to skin that as been indiscriminately exposed to the sun’s damaging UV rays. It has been determined that 80% of extrinsic aging (aging that we can control) is attributed to the sun’s rays.

This skin appears:

- Rough in texture, may be even classified as ‘leathery’, skin may also feel very ‘thick’
- Coarse, deep, wrinkling
- Significant loss of skin’s elasticity, and there may be the presence of broken capilaries (redness)
- Dry and scaly
- Darkened spots/ patches/ areas on skin aka hyperpigmentation
- Both benign and malignant growths

Overexposure to damaging UV rays can create long term damage to various layers of the skin. The protective outer layer (barrier function or acid mantle) of the skin is damaged which can lead to dehydration of the skin, as well as inflammation which, especially in darker skin types, can lead to all kinds of pigmentation issues, and darker skin already doesn’t need much help in the scarring/ darkening department.

Cell renewal, i.e. the ability of the skin to exfoliate and regenerate itself in order to reveal reveeal younger, brighter, more supple skin, slows dramatically and skin can have a sallow devitalized appearance. Collagen and elastin in the skin also breaks down. This sucks major donkey balls as for starters, only 3% of the ‘true skin’ (the layer of the skin where all the action happens) is elastin – that substance that gives the skin it’s elasticity. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. *poof*

So what’s the remedy?

That’s where all this ‘anti-aging’ marketing talk started and so here it began.

Remedies

Basically, any remedy, regardless of the cost, will seek to:

1. Help exfoliate the dead skin cells lingering on the surface, that the skin is unable to do because of it’s decreased cell renewal, which happens naturally after the age of about 25.

2. Stimulate cell renewal i.e. decrease the length of time it takes for new cells to make it to the outermost layer of the skin

3. Control darkening (hyperpigmentation) 0f the skin

4. Hydrate skin i.e. add moisture which will help reduce the appearence of the superficial fine lines that is normally associated with skin that is dehydration.

5. Calm skin. Sensitive skin is the skin type that ages the fastest, after this is dry skin. Reducing any sensitivity or inflammation on the skin

6. Restore the skin’s protective barrier to a healthy state

Any product/ action that enables any combination of the above can be considered to help in preventing accelerated degeneration of the skin/  and as a result can range from having a skin care regimen that target your main concerns (dehydration, sensitivity, breakouts) to of course the hard core approach of paralysing nerves in an effort to prevent wrinkle formation or flat out plastic surgery.

Ingredients, Ingredients, Ingredients.

Regardless of the brand, it’s what’s IN a product that will get you the most results. What are the top 5 ingredients in the product? Are they ‘active’ ingredients, or are they fillers? For example, in that ‘Hydrating’ moisturizer, is the first ingredient Water, or better yet Hyaluronic acid or Sodium PCA or is it Mineral Oil? You do the math.

You reap what you sow.
The earlier you start paying attention to your skin’s needs, the better off you will be. You can switch up your hair and get a new wardrobe, but the passport that is your face stays with you forever.

be FiercelyFabulous.

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She got it from her mama

Humans are an interesting bunch. 

We are so technologically advanced at times, yet at the same time it’s amazing the things we accept as truth. “Anti-Aging” for example, must be one of the most overused words this decade, yet when you really think about is, is ‘anti-aging’ possible? 

No. 

A perfect example of marketing at it’s finest. 

Truth is, although aging (an alteration in structure, appearance and function of skin as taken in this context) cannot be prevented, it can be accelerated.

Aging is a continuous process that starts the day that you were born. It is one of life’s harshest realities; the degree of harshness of course, is dependent on many factors including both Skin Type (genetics) and Lifestyle (how you choose to live your life) – just how much you didn’t care about your skin in your 20s shows up in your 40s, if you’ve paced yourself socially, earlier if thought then that life was running away from you.

As you can imagine, there are many factors that influence how a person ages. These factors may be classified as being either Intrinsic or Extrinsic in nature. 

Intrinsic Aging refers to that which may be naturally expected to happen with time. It is said that 10% of our aging is intrinsic i.e. 10% of how we age is beyond our control and is affected by:

1. good old Father Time and

2. Genetics, that which your parents were so kind enough to give to you, like those allergies, and those toes.

A whooping 90% of our aging however, is extrinsic, meaning that it is under our control. Can you imagine that? Ninety percent.

What we eat, what we do, where we go and how we go there, as well as what we don’t eat, what we don’t do, where we don’t go and how we don’t go there can determine how well or how dreadfully awful we age. 

Extrinsic factors would include:

- Diet, nutrition and overall health

- Lifestyle

- Exposure to UVA and UVB radiation, like the sun’s rays)
- Smoking
- Excessive alcohol consumption
-  Stress
- Medication

- Environment, or other such external factors, for example if you injured yourself or otherwise did some damage to your skin. Or for example, if you live day in day out in metropolitan smog or if you live your life breathing in the fresh Caribbean breeze in some laid back tropical paradise. 

- Hormonal

As you may, or may not, imagine, a significant amount of extrinsic aging may be attributed to aging as a result of the damage that is done to the skin as a result of the over exposure to UV radiation, which is otherwise referred to as ‘photo-aging’, a state where the skin is irreparably damaged.

Photo-aging may occur on it’s own or as a result of other ‘lifestyle’ factors. For example, the heightened sensitivity to the sun’s UV rays that occurs within the skin when something like alcohol is ingested. Smoking, quite a few over the counter medications as well as poor nutrition can also make your skin more sensitive to the sun’s rays aka burn more easily when you are outdoors. 

So yes, she may have got it from her mama, but if she’s over 35 and can still get carded, best believe that there are a whole lot of other things that she, and her mama for that matter, have been doing right, like using a cleanser that’s an upgrade from soap perhaps, or using sunscreen… for starters.

be FiercelyFabulous.

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Walk a day in these shoes.

Do you remember? MV

The scandalous tight pants ‘n combat boots wearing, bare chested, wave noveau/ wet-n-wild weave/ microbraids donning, mascara ‘n  bandana modelling  mess that was the ‘group’ Milli Vanilli?

‘Singing’ their hearts out. Oh gorm, poor thangs. Surely they must have had at least one friend who thought this was a bad idea.

Not only do you only fool yourself when you fake, but you are never satisfied. Where is the upside again?

Cheaters never win y’all; let that be our lesson for today, as it will only result in a wickedly bedraggled, break-neck fall from grace. 

Those get ups should have been the first indication that something was not quite right in Minilliville.

Blame it on the man-leggings and panty-hose top combo I say, and leave the damn rain alone.

“Girl you know it’s (AIN’T) truuuue, ooh ooh oooohhhh….”

Oooh la la!

Okay enough. Just playin’.

I still listen to ‘their’ songs anyways.

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Nine Inch Nails

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There are lots of options for those of us who choose to use nails as an accessory. Some are bold points are view and some are subtle. Some are fake and some are… well, not so fake. 

The types of nail enhancements you choose, or don’t, can be a reflection perhaps of your personality, or maybe your profession for sometimes, yes, we are bound by what the massa says, and so even though we may want to wear neon green on our finger nails, that wouldn’t go over very well with Boss Lady. 

Just a run down of the types of nail enhancements out there today, well at least the more popular ones. There’s a 3D “Hello Kitty” Nail Art that I saw come out of Japan, but we aren’t exploring those here. Maybe one day, but not today. 

Nail Enhancements

Acrylic Nails

Now considered to be very old school. Very damaging on your nail health, and because of the fumes associated with it’s application, on your general health as well. If you are an acrylic nail addict, consider making the transition over to gel nails.

Gel Nails

Gel Nails

An excellent alternative to acrylic nails. Durable, unmistakeable  nails can be created, an acrylate-free gel system that is hypoallergenic and odor-free.

Though there is still some damage that may be done to your natural nail (because there is still filing of the nail involved) Gel Nails are not AS damaging as an acrylic nail enhancement. 

As with all nail enhancements, gel nail applications are both customizable and technician specific, i.e. the final outcome of your nails will depend on the technician’s skill level and experience. You can end up with fantastic nails that look like they’re naturally yours or can just as easily leave with thick, blocky looking square tipped, ‘fake-looking’ ones. 

There are also various tips and tricks to minimize the amount of filing that occurs on your natural nails, so shop your technician smartly. 

NATURAL NAIL  TREATMENTS

For those among us who aren’t quite into the ‘fake’ nails scenario there are a few ways well to jazz up the nail plate other and mix things up a bit. If you’d rather not be classed in one of the four categories of chicks:

- Classic french,
- Siren red,
- Vampy darks or
- Sophisticated (some read this to be ‘Plain Jane’) nudes,

 Here are a few options for you. 

Minx

Minx Nails

From it’s release almost 2 years ago, this trend has grown tremendously, possibly because it has become a celeb favourite.

Fully customizable, it’s pretty much like plastic stickers that are cut to fit the size of your nail exactly, and are adhered to the nail bed with the help of a heat lamp.

The best thing about Minx Nails is that you can flaunt the most intricate nail designs on your nails. From full on true metallic, to intricate flower power or other such designs – you can even get your “Grrrrr” on – there’s no limit really to the look of your nails as the designs are printed on the sticker rather than painted on by a nail art technician. 

Word has it that you can now send in your designs and get one custom made for you. Sounds important doesn’t it? But Minx nail treatments definitely gets full points for the ‘wow’ factor, and are supposed to last for up to 2 weeks. 

UV Nail Polish

CND Shellac- Hybrid Nail Colour

This revolutionary product is the wake up that the Nail Polish Industry needed.

It’s a gel?… It’s a polish?… It’s a hybrid nail polish that is a part polish/ part UV gel polish system that wears as is for up to 14 days, without chipping. There is no buffing or filing of the natural nail bed involved, so it is a much less damaging than regular nail enhancements. 

It paints on like a normal polish application with a base coat, color, top coat – and is cured in a UV light so there is zero dry time. Paint on and put your feet in closed shoes. No smudging, no problem. 

Removal takes about 10 minutes and involves wrapping nails in individual Remover Wraps. No soaking, drilling or filing is necessary. 

However, this hybrid system would be recommended only for those who wish to extend their nail colour wear,  and is not meant to replace gel nails, as although the gel-like polish does provide some strength enhancement to the natural nail, it’s no where near that provided by a normal gel nail application. This system extend also doesn’t extend your natural nail. 

This type of manicure typically runs about 50% higher than whatever your normal manicure would cost at that particular salon. 

Nail “Effects”

CND Nail 'Effects" | Spring 2010

CND (Creative Nail Design) has a variety of nail polish combos that alter or give various ‘effects’ to a standard nail polish base color. Choose to mute bright colours, oxidize dark colours or add a sparkle pop to bold ones. Various base ‘Effect’ options can be paired with even more ‘Colour’ options for a myriad of colour outcomes. 

Neons

Bored of your usual manicure? Try neon polish. It’s all the rave for Spring/ Summer 2010. I’ve always owned the neon orange, but was sent the entire range of colours to to try well over a month or so ago.

Just got around to trying them. Yeah, not sure if you can tell but the last few weeks have been crazy mad hectic… this post, minus this neon section, was written 6 weeks ago.

Anyways, back to Neon Nailpolish.

I’m wearing a Neon “Baby” Pink – it’s more light and bright, pastel-esq I suppose, rather than dark and bold, on my nails, and the startling purple on my toes.  Even though I’m not a ‘pink’ girl, pure fyah still.

Will try the blinding yellow and the electric blue combo on the weekend.

Barbados, represent. 

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So the question is, designs are one thing, but for nails longer than 5mm (the white of the nail, the part that is not attached to your finger)…

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Short Shorts. Blumarine and Balmain Spring 2010

In addition to the previous fashion trends highlighted:

- Stripes
- Cutouts
- Wild & Exotic Prints
-  Safari | Nudes & Neutrals
- Bold Brights & Neons

Here is a wrap up  of the rest of Spring/ Summer 2010′s most catching trends. 

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1. Very Very Short Shorts

Also known very affectionately by Caribbean-ers as ‘pum pum’ shorts. Yep, all up in there. Needless to say this is best reserved for the younger age bracket, regardless of how ‘toned’ your legs are. Short skirts/ minis are also an option. 

The key to wearing this look is to contrast the super-sexy by pairing with boots/ booties and some top with long sleeves. 

Tip: Resist the urge to go TOO short. Try to make a suggestion rather than be explicit, noone needs to see your assets.

Body suits are also big. Must be inspired by all the entertainers in leotards, and should also only be worn by them. 

2. All Denim Everything

Head to toe denim ala the Denim Tuxedo. And not just any denim, this one is both distressed AND bleached, either simple bleach or acid wash. If you dare, pair with a simple white tee, and keep everything else as simple as possible. Again, a very fresh, hippy, young look. 

For anyone over 30-ish, a great way to still get into this trend is by donning denim ‘peek-a-boo’ style. A denim shirt, vest or even jacket perhaps, under an oversized blazer or leather jacket, is a very subtle yet fashion forward way to channel the 90s without looking like you just dig into your closet and dusted off all of your 90s gear. 

80s 

The 80s style has been making its way back into the fashion world for a while, but it seems like it’s back in a big way this year, which officially makes the disco decade ‘vintage’. Strong shoulders and oversized clothing are the main contenders. 

3. Masculine Elements

Strong shoulders on blazers (oversized or not)  works this trend well. Pay very special attention to your proportions though, if you are already ‘top heavy’ or carry most of your weight on the upper half of your body (a healthy bust size or a very prominent mid section) this may not be the most flattering option for you. 

Striped textiles, military inspired jackets and oxford shoes also fall in this trend. Pair with shorts or leggings to balance this overly masculine look. Simple, delicate jewelry, like a hairband or locket pendants also help balance this look. 

4. Oversized & Extreme proportions

The super wide tee that’s also shorter in the front and longer in the back. Quite a few of the tees fall into the belly baring category. Remember those? 

Also referred to as the ‘fishtail shirt’, tunics and dresses are also featured here, where the back length can be anywhere as long as just a few inches longer than the front to past the back of the knees. The key is to keep this as the only statement, as it’s enough as is.

Clogs are also big this spring/ summer season. Bring on the noise.

Tip: If they aren’t already rubberized, professionally resoling this type of footwear with a thin rubber sole often makes for a less noisy lifestyle, as well as one that is less jarring on your knee joints. Shock absorbers almost. Again, if you are over a certain age, preservation is key. 

6. Jumpsuit Shorts

Love it or hate it, jumpsuit shorts and sportswear inspired clothing are here. These are best worn with casual, comfortable sandals/ shoes respectively, for a laid back ‘n fab look, and are best worn for casual occasions or a night in.

Whatever you do, resist the urge to wear either with super high stilettos.

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I think this more or less covers the Spring/ Summer Fashion trends posts. If you missed any, see below.

As you see there is a lot to choose from. The downside, however, is that there is also a lot of margin for major fashion error. 

Consider your body type and your age bracket before choosing to step out in one of these getups, and pair pieces smartly. For example, balance:

- Volume with sleek. 

- Exposed skin in one area with coverup in the others.

- Masculine with feminine.

Keep in mind that feminine has less to do with ‘pink’, and more to do proper fit and delicate details.

- Brights with muted tones

and you should be okay.

Minimalista Chick

When in doubt, your best bet is always to stay ‘simple’ and utilize accessories, nails and/ or shoes to the fullest, to get ‘on trend’.

Go Brave.

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Pick-me-up

Finding the right pick up lines must be all kinds of baffling for guys because some can really screw up a perfect opportunity by doing or saying something insanely inappropriate.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, more than the phrase itself, the wrong delivery of the right intention can really tank a potentially good thing. Crash. And. Burn.

Guys, here are some tips for talking to/ asking out a lady stranger that you’re into, or perhaps one that you kinda-sorta-know-through-someone-else-but-not-really.

1. Go Standard

Don’t use ‘text’ talk. She’s neither going to understand you nor take you seriously. This applies largely to the women out there who are too busy with their daily responsibilities to be carrying on a conversation via text for the whole day.

As a result, don’t expect her to know all the acronyms and symbol combinations. Not to mention a sentence that appears to be a hodge podge mish mash of words, symbols and/ or numbers, in no particular order, doesn’t LOOK Sexy. 

Can’t spell standard English? Make a call.

And Facebook –  it has it’s time and it’s place. If you don’t know the lady in question, please don’t just send her a random message saying that you think she’s nice/ pretty/ <insert something shallow here>/ <insert something inappropriate here> followed up by a friend request. It’s a step up from sending a friend request on it’s own but it’s still not good enough to be acceptable. 

At least try to have a back and forth, aka a CONVERSATION, with her first and then move on to phase two of becoming ‘friends’. Why? ‘Cause doing otherwise it’s a tad stalkerish and a touch random, and that’s when you both have people in common. If you DON’T, then it’s just a ‘lot’ of the aforementioned. 

2. Channel Rico Suave

It’s all in the delivery, consider it a form of packaging. If is one thing that we have learnt within the past few years is this:

You can have the best thing in the world, if it doesn’t look right, no-one is going to want it. Alternatively, the worst, dumbest thing will fly off the shelf when appropriately packaged. 

1. If you are going to text or email a request:

TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. THERE IS NEVER AN EXCUSE TO USE ALL CAPS FOR A SIMPLE REQUEST. A PROCLAMATION MAYBE, BUT NOT A REQUEST. USE ALL CAPS AND YOU WILL APPEAR TO BE SHOUTING OR TO BE, AT THE VERY LEAST, BORDERLINE ABUSIVE. AND…

2. Enough with the suspension dots…

Say what you mean…

and…

mean what you say…

and finish…

a complete thought…

all in one message will you?…

Thanks…

When/ if the relationship moves forward then maybe we can play tag.

3. Be simple

1. Regardless of what you’ve learnt from  TV, avoid using a cliche to say something that you want to get across on the real. 

“…i dnt tlk abt it, I b abt it… now wht i mean… ”

is not where it’s at. It’s also grammatically incorrect, and serves to only give the same reaction as #1. 

If you are going the comic route or for the ‘wow okay, that was weird’ reaction, then by all means, cliche away. 

2. Don’t reference body parts or bring Mothers (or Parents) into the mix; it’s a very awkward visual for us. 

5. Man up

It may work in your best interest to consider that lady friend of yours out to be a big deal, just so that you think about calling, or asking in person rather than via text.

If the lady in question just receives a random text/ message from you, it  can feel like an invasion of privacy for her when she is bombarded with the random request from an even more random individual.

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Health Tip: Smart Start

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Yes, studies have shown that starting the day right with a breakfast that is high in fibre and low in sugar can give your body the boost it needs, the boost that most of us think we can get from coffee.

But what about replenishing the fluids lost during sleep?

Your body loses quite a lot of it’s water content during this time.

Drinking an 8 oz glass of water soon after waking up would replace the water that your body has lost.

Doing so will also give your metabolism a boost, enabling you almost immediately have more energy.

Find pure water boring? Add freshly squeezed lemon or lime, or spike it with a dash or two of pure cranberry juice (read non-sweetened). This will add a touch of flavour, as well as vitamin C, a powerful anti-oxidant.

Whatever you do stay far away from commercially packaged, flavoured water.

One look at the Nutritional Facts on the label will indicate that these drinks often come packaged with more sugar and salt than a healthy diet would allow for just replacing liquids that have been lost overnight.

Start your day off right by just replacing just the liquids that have been lost, rather than putting your daily calorie bank in deficit before you even have a meal. Save the extra calories that come with ‘flavoured water’ for something fun why not, like dessert perhaps.

Follow with that high fibre, low sugar breakfast.

Tip: a cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese doesn’t fall into the ‘high fibre, low sugar’ category.

Photo: Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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