Entries Tagged 'wedding health' ↓

Okay folks, I found a new toy.  Brides.com came out with a new tool, the Brides.com Wedding Day Hair Studio, to help you brides “try on” new hairstyles and makeups.  It also helped keep me entertained today.  But hopefully me entertainment can give you an idea of what you can do with this thing.  So here we go, some of my creations look pretty bad, but I must admit some might not be too bad, you be the judge.

 Okay, lets start with a bald Britney Spears…

Now using the amazing Wedding Day Hair Studio, lets “try on” Paris Hilton’s make-up and hair style.

Here, Britney is trying on Hillary Duff’s look.

And finally, here’s Britney trying on Jennifer Aniston’s make-up and hair style.

Here’s Britney with long brown hair…

Here’s Britney with long blonde hair…

Okay, this pictures may be a little discouraging. Britney might be better off staying bald. But give the Wedding Day Hair Studio a try and let me know what you think!

Do you want to know, with 90% accuracy, whether or not you marriage will succeed or fail? Well, Dr Gottman, author of Why Marriages Succeed or Fail: And How You Can Make Yours Last, claims he is able to predict the fate of your marriage with a 90% accuracy. He’s monitored hundreds of couples during conflicts and has concluded that there are four different characteristics that spell out trouble. They are criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and withdrawal. He also says that positive to negative comments in a relationship must be in a 5 to 1 ratio. Are you getting nervous? Well, Dr. Gottman isn’t saying you are all doomed to failure! He has a four step program that can help turn your situation around.

Now, this morning on the Today show, I saw Dr. Laura Berman talking about her research about how personality traits can ruin your marriage. She broke the traits into four types also:

1. The Pleaser: “Puts the we before me in the relationship” Sounds to be somewhat co-dependant.

2. The One-Upper: Has to be right and fights until the other admits defeat.

3. The Avoider: “Sticks his/her head in the sand” Tries to avoid issues in hopes they go away or to avoid conflict.

4. The Catastrophizer: Tends to blame all his/her problems on their spouse. Uses terms like “You always…”, “You never…” often during fights.

Do you fall into any of these categories? I ordered Dr Gottman’s book today, it sounds pretty interesting.

Here’s the video from the Today show this morning, it’s only a few minutes long.

The folks over at divorce360.com commissioned a Gfk Roper poll to find out why people get divorced. Maybe we can learn something from this to help us avoid it. Maybe if we enter into marriage with our eyes open we can fight the odds.

So here’s the top 3 reasons why we get divorced and how to avoid it.

1. Abuse: The number one reason people get divorced is abuse, either physical or verbal. In fact 36% of divorced Americans cited abuse as the cause ( 48% of women, 21% of men)

How to avoid it: Okay folks if you are being abused before you get married, things aren’t going to get better. Run away as fast as you can! Now there are some anger issues or improper arguing that can be worked on but it will take cooperation from both of you but if you are getting hit or verbally abused that should be an obvious warning sign!

2. Money: 22% of people cite money as the cause for their divorce.

How to avoid it: Take a look at how your fiancé is handling money now. Do they save? Do they have a lot of debt? For those of you marrying the second time, are there child support payments? This can lead to resentment on your part. Are the child support payments up to date? Whatever you see going on now is probably what you will see going on in 10 years. Can you handle it? Don’t expect them to change. Talk to him/her about it see what kind of reaction you get. Talk about where you want to be in 10 years, are you in agreement?

3. Someone New: 18% of divorced people got divorced because they met someone new.

How to avoid it: By the way 12% say they got divorced due to boredom. I see these reasons as related. So what can you do about it? Keep it new! Sounds simple but it’s not. Things are great while you are courting, you can’t wait to see each other, you can talk for hours on the phone and not get bored. Well folks, I hate to rain on your parade but the norm is for this to stop. Why? Life happens, work, bills, complacency, kids, etc. So, are you doomed? You don’t have to be. But, it takes a lot of work on both of your parts. I recommend the book, The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate the author Gary Chapman is a genius.

Overall marriage takes work. You both can have the best of intentions but can’t seem to keep the connection. It takes a lot of focus and determination but it also takes a keen ability to communicate your feelings and understand the feelings and needs of your mate. This is what Gary Chapman explains in his book.

It’s never too early to start working on your marriage, even if you’re not married yet!

Rhonda

Thanks billjacobus1 for the picture!

As you know planning your wedding can be a stressful time.  Well, here’s a unique way to get reinvigorated.  It supposedly will make you look and feel younger as well as exfoliate and help to detoxify your body.   What is this unique therapy I speak of?  It’s Vinotherapy!

It’s all in the polyphenols in the grape seeds.  Some experts say it’s a thousand times more effective than vitamin E in the fight against free radicals.

Here’s a video that tells all about it…

Interested in checking it out?  Well, your lucky!  Two of the top-10 best wine spas worldwide are located in California. 

They are The Kenwood Inn and Spa in Kenwood, Ca and Villagio Inn and Spa in Yountville, Ca.

Anybody ever experience this?  Let’s hear about it!

Rhonda

Today I’m going to spend some time talking about a book I’ve been reading, The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate. I’m fascinated about human interaction and what makes us tick. I’m also fascinated by the course taken by many relationships. How people so much in love in the beginning can wind up being the worst enemy’s in the end. You may have read books like “Men are From Mars, and Women are from Venus” which talks about the fundamental differences between men and women and how these differences are not understood by the other, leading to major communication issues.

Well this book, The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate comes at it from a different direction. The premise is that each of us speaks a different “love language” and when someone “speaks” to us in our “love language” we feel loved and satisfied. Unfortunately, many times our mate speaks a different love language than we do, not wrong just different. This problem tends to leave one feeling unsatisfied and unloved and obviously leading to relationship problems! So how do we fix this problem.

1. Find out what your mate’s “love language” is
2. Learn how to “speak” it

The five love languages are:

1. Words of Affirmation
2. Quality Time
3. Receiving Gifts
4. Acts of Service
5. Physical Touch

According to the book, we tend to show affection to others through our own language. So if your love language is receiving gifts, then not only does receiving gifts from your mate make you feel loved, you will tend to give gifts to express your love. But if your mate’s love language is words of affirmation, he will feel much more loved if you compliment his looks, his intelligence, etc, than if you bought him a gift.

Personally I believe I’m bi-lingual, I enjoy both quality time and receiving gifts, while my husband is definitely a words of affirmation type of guy. So my job is to become tri-lingual and learn that in order to keep my husband satisfied I need to show affection to him through words of affirmation.

So why am I talking about this now to my audience of in love people preparing for their wedding? Because, this is just the beginning and I want all of you to have long and happy marriages! So if you want to see more of my thoughts on how to have a long and happy marriage, check out my guest blog post over at Masterpiece Weddings, and see “What Happens After the Honeymoon !”

How important are your eyebrows? Well, ladies I personally feel when your eyebrows are shaped and properly groomed, you see a difference in your face immediately. It is like having an instant eye lift. Now, I have been getting my eyebrows shaped for years, but I never have had them done so perfectly until now. I have been lucky enough to sample a few salons in Beverly Hills. I have been known to complain about being stuck out here in the Mojave desert in California, but it does have its advantages (like being an hour and a half away from LA).

My favorite salon is Valerie’s Salon, it is also the favorite of many stars including Teri Hatcher and Nicole Kidman. I have had my eyebrows waxed, my makeup done, and even false eyelashes once. I always have so much fun when I go, and I now know why the movie stars always look flawless. I must admit, that I feel like a million bucks every time I leave Valerie’s. Even after the makeup comes off, my eyebrows look great for weeks after. So I guess the reason why I am sharing this with you is because I really think eyebrows are the most important feature on your face and can have a drastic affect on your appearance if they are properly waxed. Perfectly shaped eyebrowas can improve your appearance as much as an expertly cut hairstyle. So, when you are preparing for the big day, don’t forget your eyebrows. But, don’t wait for your wedding day to find the perfect place to have your eyebrows done! Try a few out to make sure you don’t make the wrong decision right before your wedding. You need to start looking at least several months out, ask around, and don’t go for the cheapest place you can find. Also, remember eyebrows take a while to grow back if you choose the wrong salon!

By the way, the last time I was getting my brows done at Valerie’s I saw a beautiful girl having her makeup and brows done for her wedding that evening. She looked amazing… like she belonged on a magazine cover.

Thanks to Lazy Lightning for the picture!

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Rhonda
Our Wedding Plus

Worried about your complexion leading up to that big day? According to a poll in Women’s Health magazine, Zits are the #1 wedding day worry. Stress can pay a heavy toll on your skin, but I think this is something that can easily be solved!Whenever I have a big event coming up. I start preparing way ahead of time to make sure my skin looks great. I personally think gradual changes make a big difference over time. One of the first things I try to do is drink a lot of water. I also try to sneak in a few facials, but if I don’t have the time or extra cash I steam my face before I cleanse at night. I’m also always on the search for that perfect product that works best for my skin. Now I have shared with you before that I have really, really dry skin, so zits are not really my problem, but a dry scaly patch can be just as devastating for me. By the way that skin care line (md formulations) I told you about a few weeks ago…I’m still loving it! Check it out if you have dry skin.

But, for you ladies worrying about zits…I recommend you take a look at the “Beauty All Stars” in the July/August 2007 issue of Women’s Health Magazine, it contains a list of what they think are the best beauty products of the year including skin care, hair care, and make-up.

The product they named for acne treatment was Proactive Solution. This “zit zapper” was very successful for a friend of mine. The one I’m definitely going to try is there choice for the best facial exfoliant, the Neutrogena Advanced Solutions At Home MicroDermabrasion System. They say it promises a “megawatt glow.” I will let you know how it turns out.

But overall, I think the key is start early and don’t do anything drastic within a week of the event!

Anybody else find some good face care tricks?Sign up for our free monthly newsletter!

Rhonda

Our Wedding Plus

Thanks to Misterbisson for the photo!

Since most of you are preparing yourselves for the BIG day, and I’m sure you want to be radiant, I thought you might be interested in a skincare line that I just started using and love! First of all, I struggle with very dry sensitive skin, so if you can relate this may be for you too. It is the MD Formulations Sensitive Anti-Wrinkle Kit.. My problem is everything I use including my sunscreen causes some kind of reaction, whether it is dry patches or bumps that are hard to see, but I know they are there. Living in the Mojave Desert and being outside with my horse almost all day, I can’t live without my sunscreen. So this is what led me to try this Anti-Wrinkle Kit, I was desperate to get that glow I see so many other women with.

Well I think I finally cracked the code, at least for all of us with dry sensitive skin. I’ve been using it for about a week now and my skin is looking great, and no more bumps!

Oh yeah, the only bad thing (for me) is I found it on Amazon for $10 less than I paid on another website. If you want it click on the picture above or on the link.

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Rhonda
http://www.ourweddingplus.com/

This week I’m out in Boulder, Colorado with my husband. What a beautiful place! This is my first time in Colorado and it is amazing. Hot too, mid-90s, I didn’t expect that! Since I currently live in the Mojave Desert in California, not one of my favorite places, ts nice to see green trees and grass rather than the brown I’m used to. Anyway, while I’m out here I’m going to try to find a yoga or Pilates studio to keep me busy during the day. I love yoga and I love Pilates. I think they are great workouts for both the body and the mind.

So, getting to the point, I wanted to pass on some info I came across that might be a great option for our stressed out brides out there. My stress always settles in my back. It never fails, when I get stressed or I’m worrying about something my lower back starts hurting. I found this video from very popular yoga instructor Rodney Yee. It focuses on the back and might help my lower back issues.

I’m going to try it and I’ll let you know how it goes after I do it for a while.

By the way Gaiam.com has a lot of yoga stuff, if you are interested they are currently running these coupon codes.

1) Coupon Deal: $25 off orders over $150
Coupon Code: QHV6
Valid from Apr 23, 2007
Valid to Dec 31, 2007

and

2) Coupon Deal: Free shipping on orders over $75
Coupon Code: AFS2
Valid from Jan 1, 2007
Valid to Jun 30, 2007

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Rhonda
http://www.ourweddingplus.com

If you are getting married you experienced it in one form or another. That pressure that we put on ourselves and we experience from others when planning your wedding. Where does it come from and what can we do about it?

The mental stress is the obvious part, there are also a lot of things you should take into consideration during planning to make sure you have a healthy wedding for you and your guests.

I mentioned last week that I had the unique opportunity to participate in an interview with two leading health professionals about wedding health issues. This interview covered both mental health and physical health and turned out to be pretty interesting.

The two doctors that participated are Revolution Health’s Senior Medical Director Val Jones, MD, who wrote “10 Tips for a Healthy Wedding” and Dr. Charles Foster, Research Director of the Chestnut Hill Institute.
As Senior Medical Director Val deals with health issues across the broad and puts special emphasis on prevention. Val spent several years in the 90s as a minister before going into medicine, so she’s been around a few weddings herself! She also draws her experience from her own wedding, almost precisely two years ago.

Dr. Foster has thirty years clinical experience working with couples, families, and individuals. Internationally known for his work with couples in transition, he has consulted with organizations in Holland helping traumatized refugee families seeking asylum and has worked for the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts to train priests in how best to prepare couples for marriage, to take just a couple of examples. He has also researched and co-authored six books on relationships.

Checkout the audio from the interview…

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Rhonda

Our Wedding Plus