About Cancer Zodiac Sign

 I love reading about my Zodiac sign "Cancer".
Here's what I found about a cancer.
I find that so many of these Cancer statements are very true about myself.

• Cancer likes their space, but when we're alone together, we want your undivided attention.
• Single cancer lives it up to the fullest.
• Cancer has a tendency to love with their whole heart, that's why we get heartbroken so easily.
• Cancer has a special ability where they know exactly what to do to get under someone's skin.
• People fall in love with cancer quickly, if they take the time to get to know us.
• Cancer believes home is where the heart is. 
• Cancer is the one who says, "remember when..." We're very nostalgic and sometimes live in the past. 
• Cancer has a soft, sweet side ... and their bad ass, dont take shit from anyone side.
• Cancer gives well thought out advice, so listen closely... You'll thank us later.
• It takes cancer a long time to get over things. 
• Cancer is one of the best friends you can have. We're fiercely loyal & protective of those we care about.
• Be patient with a cancer, once you've earned our trust we can give you the most satisfying relationship.

Do you know anything about your zodiac sign that you think is very true about yourself?

Meet Katie – Guest Blogger!

 I received an email from a fellow blogger Katie *awesome name ;)* asking if she could do a guest post on my blog.
We seem to have some common interests - dance, Steelers football, and health & wellness.  I don't blog about my workout routine, healthy foods I like to eat, or health tips so I thought Katie's post would be a nice change.
Thank you Katie for contacting me, I appreciate it.
Everyone should take the time to check out her blogs!

 

Author Bio:  Katie Brind’Amour is a freelance writer eating her way through Columbus, Ohio one delicious dish at a time.  When she is not busy sampling new red wines and dark chocolates, she spends her time writing for her clients at [Elance.com https://www.elance.com/s/kbrindamour/] and her [personal blog friendshipendeavor.wordpress.com].
 

Eat and Feel Good About It This Winter!

I must admit that every time the temperature dips below 50 degrees, I automatically get a craving for pumpkin-flavored coffee and snicker doodles.  Not a snicker doodle.  Many snicker doodles.  Unfortunately, delicious binges of this nature are inevitably followed by an uncomfortable stomach, a short-lived sugar buzz, and a twinge of guilt.  

But no more.  This winter, I am making a vow to eat a bit healthier, to avoid the chronic cold-weather indulgences that leave me in a season-long mental hibernation, and to exchange the winter blahs and blues for yeas and hoorays.

 

As it turns out, Mother Nature has provided a few ways I can do this rather painlessly.  Read on for a list of delicious, nutritious, and [brain-boosting foods http://www.helpfordepression.com/slideshow/lifestyle-changes/10-foods-boost-your-mood] to keep the winter blues at bay.

 

Ten Feel-Good Foods and Drinks

#1.  Salmon.  The Omega-3 fatty acids in salmon can help both your mood and your memory by filling your brain with the fats it needs to function to its full potential.  Other foods with Omega-3s include tuna, nuts, canola and flaxseed oils, green leafy veggies, cruciferous veggies (think broccoli and cauliflower), and kidney beans.  

#2.  Bananas.  Not only do bananas contain tons of vitamins and minerals that help your entire body, but they are also packed full of specific nutrients for your brain.  Magnesium helps reduce anxiety and promote restful sleep, tryptophan reduces stress, and potassium delivers oxygen to your brain.  This magical fruit also boosts the production of serotonin, helping you feel happy and calm.

#3.  Spinach.  Just like chard and kale (but without tasting like chard and kale…), spinach has magnesium to relieve stress and tons of folic acid and antioxidants that boost your mood and reduce fatigue.  I see a spinach salad topped with salmon in my future.

#4.  Eggs.  The vitamin D, B12, and choline found in eggs help enhance your memory and boost the production of serotonin, making you feel content (as if eating a fried egg wouldn’t do that even if it didn’t have those nutrients!).  The serious level of protein in eggs is absorbed by your body slowly, as well, helping increase energy, focus, and productivity while keeping you feeling full.  Just be sure to eat both the yolk and the whites for the full benefit!

#5.  Turkey.  There is a reason everyone collapses in a happy heap on the couch after Thanksgiving dinner.  Turkey and chicken, lean red meat, eggs, and beans all contain tryptophan, which helps your brain build neurotransmitters and serotonin, helping you relaxed and happy.  The tyrosine in turkey also prompts your brain to release dopamine and norepinephrine, which can help you cope with stress, improve your reaction time and motivation, and boost your energy levels over time.  

#6.  Nuts.  Walnuts, almonds, peanuts, cashews, and most other nuts contain lost of healthy fats, protein, and minerals for healthy brain function.  Besides helping you sleep well, they can reduce irritability and anxiety, relieve mild depression, stabilize your mood, and increase your mental functioning.  I have decided to add nuts to my salmon and spinach salad.  

#7.  Oatmeal.  This delicious, warm, filling grain helps supply your brain with a slow and steady dose of energy for optimum function, its selenium helps control mood, and its prompts for serotonin release can keep you calm and capable.  Other whole grain breads and cereals, legumes, and starchy vegetables (like squash and corn) have similar benefits, as [complex carbohydrates http://www.healthline.com/health/living-with-depression/depression-dieting-tips-and-food-options].  As if I needed another excuse to eat pasta and bread!

#8.  Milk.  Besides the wide variety of vitamins, minerals, and proteins in milk, its whey can decrease frustration and anxiety.  What’s more, milk helps your brain use all of the nutrients from the other foods you consume.  No wonder my husband is so chill – milk is his go-to drink (while I beg the dairy gods for similar perks from ice cream).

#9.  Oranges.  Just like grapefruits (which sadly aren’t as sweet), oranges pack plenty of Vitamin C, helping you avoid irritability, a sour mood, and energy dips.  Citrus fruits also help pump oxygen through your brain and use the iron you get from other foods, reducing fatigue.  If you don’t like oranges, just return to Vitamin C-rich spinach (are you noticing a theme yet?).  

#10.  Dark chocolate.  Thank heavens.  I was waiting for sweets to be an integral part of a real diet plan one day, since the “Elf” flick’s three-tiered plan of candy corn, candy canes, and syrup didn’t quite fit the bill.  Luckily, research shows that the antioxidants and phenylalanine in dark chocolate (no milk chocolate or white chocolate, unfortunately) help protect your brain from damaging chemicals and produce dopamine.  This delicious treat also helps keep your blood vessels healthy and gives your brain a natural kick of energy and endorphins.  Sweet.  

I was sad indeed to find that there are precious few mental boosts likely to be provided by snicker doodles, but I suppose I should take comfort in the fact that I actually eat – and enjoy – a good number of the foods on this feel-good list.  And if they work like they are supposed to, the more I eat of them, the more enjoyment my then-happy and healthy mind will get out of whatever I choose for dessert!

 

Snicker doodles, anyone?

Meet Danae! Guest Blogger

Danae Matthews is a 20-something who writes for an on-line health company Women’s Health Base in San Francisco. She loves to run, cook, hang out with friends and is just starting out in this wonderful world of blogging!



Admittedly, being a product of the 21st century I would like to fancy myself a connoisseur of all channels of social media. If there is a popular blog, zine, phrase trending or Facebook page; I need to check it out. Much in the same way, when I have a question I take to these same mediums to find what my peers consider the most suitable answer. Ever since college and my inability to pay attention to a talking head in front of a classroom, YouTube has been near and dear to my heart. There is one YouTuber in particular who I have followed for quite some time and revered for her candor and ability to say what’s real- no frills and no apologies. But I was taken aback a week or so ago when I watched a video in which she was replying to her subscribers questions about dating. Here I thought she would put men in their place and tell them to get off their butts and start acting like real men, and instead she gave women a talking to.
The video went on for 7 minutes about how as women we expect too much out of men. We expect men to pay for everything, take us out for fabulous meals and basically in all situations roll out the red carpet for our fabulous asses. In her estimation women’s sights are set at a level where men are destined to fail.

Ummmmm. This is my problem. Not just with that video or with this YouTuber (because aside from that one video I love her to death and consistently watch everything she posts) my problem is this: have we given up? More so: have we given up this early? This YouTuber is not even 25-years-old yet and she has already taken a stance on relationships and dating that encourages women to be more excited about what they are getting and not focus on what they aren’t.


~Young love~

I completely disagree with this idea. I have experienced it first hand with so many of my friends, and myself, the need to be the “cool” girlfriend in attempt to not scare anyone away. You go ditch because you don’t want to seem high maintenance, you let his friends come along to everything because you want to prove you can be “one of the guys”, you don’t push the titles because “you’re taking it slow”…Trust me this is getting you nowhere. This kind of behavior may have worked for one girlfriend you knew once upon a time, but trust me that girlfriend aren’t you. If you’re high maintenance own that! If you want to be taken out, own it! I’m not saying be obnoxious or demanding- there is no need for five course dinners 7 days a week. The kind of man that you want to be with and who will want to be with you is going to want to take you out and show you off, not sit on the coach and play X-Box.

It may be an unpopular position I am taking with some, but show me a relationship where a woman isn’t being treated like a lady, but both partners are happy and I will show you a million dollars. We don’t need to give up the ideals and traditions that have been working for so long. Maybe if we let men act like men once in a while they’d stop acting like boys. Just a thought!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Thank You Danae for sharing your views of dating on my blog!  Dating can be fun, unpleasant, tricky and energy draining.  I don’t think many ladies out there spend time discovering the important things to catch and keep a great man. But what about finding a man that does care about you? A man that wants to spend time with you. A man that doesn't want the date to end. A man that feels a pang of jealousy when he sees you with anyone but him?   Whatever the status of your dating life is enjoy it and have some fun! 

Ladies please also check out Womens Health Base!!
I think its an awesome website that is now saved in my favorites!
”Health website especially for women, including information on diseases and conditions, diet and fitness, beauty, and sex and relationships.”

Dry Winter Skin



image via

I hate this time of year.  There's nothing worse than dry, itchy skin.  Dry skin can happen any time of the year, but is most prevalent in the winter.  For some reason I always get this red patch of dry skin near my chin, on my face. I *always!!* apply aveeno face lotion in the morning and night all year long, but for some reason it just isnt strong enough.  I was wondering if any of you ladies had quick remedy tips to soothe dry winter skin that wont clog pores??  I'd greatly appericate it :)

Can Underwear Change Your Mood?

ShopSmart magazine is reporting that women feel more confident and sexy when they wear a special pair of underwear. However, a bad pair of underwear can have the complete opposite effect. The survey was conducted and featured 1,000 women over the age of 18, and 47 percent said their underwear had a huge effect on their confidence. Other interesting findings from the study: women own an average of 21 pairs, with 10 percent owning 35 or more; women tend to prefer briefs in neutral colors such as black, white and beige.
women between the ages of 18-34 tend to wear more adventurous styles.

So what does it all mean? Well, it doesn’t seem to tell us much we didn’t already know. (Wait, women like to feel sexy? What?) Most people tend to feel more confident when they know they have put a lot of work into their appearance. While it may not be underwear with men, you certainly wouldn’t walk into a job interview wearing gym shorts and feel good about it. What the study does point to is that the commodification of sex is a very real thing; Victoria’s Secret isn’t a billion dollar company for nothing. It might not be wise to draw too many conclusions from this, but it speaks to the fact that many women likely feel that society values them primarily for their physical attractiveness.

I agree with this article, even if there covered by bottom clothing and no one sees my panties.

 I'll wear a cute, lacy or racy pair just because it makes me feel good, confident, and sexy.

But then again I'm not saying an ugly pair of underwear ruins my day.

Do you feel that this research conducted is true

and you fall into this category of women?