Saturday, January 12, 2008

Learning to Love Reading

First, let me start off by saying that Halle Berry is the picture of nature's perfection as a pregnant woman. Obviously a gorgeous woman already, but she wears pregnancy with such beauty and a goddess-like quality.

Whether it’s Halle, J-Lo, Juno Spears, or another, this post is for the belly toting mother-to-be in your life. I have yet another amazing reading suggestion: A few years ago, I went through a little pregnancy obsession where I wanted to know the gross details of the miraculous transformation a woman’s body goes through, so I read this book, Jenny McCarthy’s Belly Laughs, and it was hilarious, honest, informational (subsequently disgusting), and I pass it along whenever I can. So if you're preggers (at first I hated it when people said that) or you are just looking out for a friend, it's a quick read so you can show your support by reading it together.


For a review of the book, check out this excerpt from Bookslut.com
Any chapter dealing with hormonally induced emotional changes, especially if it involves fights with her husband, is quite humorous. Chapters dealing with complete strangers feeling like they could tell her how to live her life just because she was pregnant made me fall over laughing. Also, perhaps predictably, all chapters dealing with bodily functions such as puking, peeing, farting or pooping merited reading aloud to whoever was nearby.
See the rest of the article here.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Finally!

I had to wait two whole months to share my joy!! I have fallen head over heels for the debut book from Ms. Kimora Lee Simmons:

Fabulosity - What it is and how to get it

What it is and how to get it, honey! Oh - I love it, every page if it! Seriously, no matter what you think about Kimora and her booming (or I've heard 'bitchy') personality, she is a confident business woman of color who has created an inspiring and comprehensive guide to truly living your best life (I am stealing Oprah's phrase), both socially and professionally, and from the inside out. She's a mogul and a mom and, undeniably, a glamorous woman - and her book has inspired me so much that I bought 13 copies as necessary Christmas presents for women I care about. I would have bought 20 more if I could afford it - That's how much I LOVE and BELIEVE IN this book. And don't even get me started on her E!/Style Network show: Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane. Love it!

And in the spirit of my new handbook, I must share my newest must-have beauty item. Prepare yourself for what it, to me, is an uncomfortable, or shall I say revealing, conversation on my part:
So, I had always had pretty nice, clear skin until about 2 years ago. For some reason, right after I graduated from college, I began to look like I was going through puberty, as in pimples, people - really bad, hide out in your basement, teenage puberty (not pretty, pretty eeeew). Disgusting and humiliating to me to say the least. And what's worse, I could find NO cause and NO cure and my cousin is a dermatologist! Nothing! Awful medicines that dried my skin out or required timed routines, I seriously considered Proactiv, but was discouraged by my doctor cousin. Anywho, suffice it to say, it was frustrating.

Well, in reading Fabulosity, Kimora gave a few tips on the importance of eating better - Nothing that she claims to have mastered, but like many of us, she recognizes that there are many things a woman can do to take care of her "Goddess" (ahhh, Kimora, you know what to say to a lady) and starting with what we put in our bodies is a good idea. Cut to the chase, right?! She mentioned POMEGRANATE JUICE. I began drinking it just as a way to treat my body better. I knew I liked the fruit, so I figured I'd like the juice, and something about antioxidants and such being good for the skin, blah, blah, I didn't really know what was going to happen. I found that it has been phenomenal for my little face problem. In three weeks of having 4-8 ounces (a glass) of pomegranate juice a day, I noticed that the unpredictable, untreatable little gremlins had gone and were staying gone. Even when I thought it was just a coincidence, I was traveling and stopped drinking it for 4 days and one of the little bastards (pardon me) popped up! I immediately took to the supermarket for my antidote and that sucker was untraceable in a few days. I have all of my friends hooked, because they were with me - they saw the "Thing" arrive and they saw it go and now I preach the antioxidant power of the POM. (If you don't like pomegranates or pomegranate juice, my dad - another doctor - says you can also take a multivitamin with antioxidants in it.) I must warn you, if you're like me, and are facing some serious skin issues, the juice is like crack. I am totally dependent on it now, I must have it in my fridge at all times and I must have about 8 ounces a day.