It’s gotta be Black Widow.

Love her introduction into the Avengers Movie.

No superpowers. Just beauty, brains and skills. She plays quite a major role in this Avengers Movie.

world ventures travel presentation

There are tons of ways to make money.

One way is through travel.

How big is the industry? How much can you potentially make from this?

You just got to watch this to understand.

One way some people pay for their travels is to buy attractive things locally produced in their destinations and sell these back home for a profit, to cover costs.

If you’ve got an eye on the trends and an instinct for what sells, go for it! You’d need a good eye as to what sells, or you’d end up with inventory that won’t move, that people don’t buy.. and you ended up losing even more money.

Travel can be expensive if you want to live it up. You could backpack and stay in less comfortable lodgings.. or you could travel in style, staying in 5 star or 6 star hotels. Or just go for spa vacations. It all boils down to cost.

What if there were a way to get 6 star vacations at 2 star prices?

That caught my attention. I want to bring my family on a luxury dream trip, but am to broke to do so.. unless I could get really low prices.

It gets better, the money you spend on a trip, as a member earns you points, dollar for dollar. These points can then be used for the next holiday. It’s better than jobs with travel. With a job that requires travel,you’res still working most of the time. With this travel business, you’re actually having a vacation.

Mentally, I started counting. 2 trips for the price of one.. at wholesale prices.. low enough to bring my entire family on a 6 star vacation. While I’m at it, I can check out the local shops to see whether there’s anything I could sell on my websites.. You can do the same too the market’s big enough for all of us.

Speaking about market, when you get people to join in as members, so you have more travel kakis, and they would be grateful to you for introducing these low-priced luxury trips to them.. you earn referral cash. If you’ve got lots of pals who have pals who are bitten by the travel bug.. hey.. that’s the way to go.

Interested? Message me. Facebook.com/behealth

These are the websites which I received with my membership.
This is to find out which dream trips are available.
This is where I get more information about the World Ventures Travel Business

a cup of green tea

There’s so much talk about the antioxidants in tea, especially green tea.
I’ve heard that green tea is slimming too. How true is all this?

A study by Fudan University in Shanghai, funded by Lipston Institute of Tea monitored the effects of green tea consumption on body weight. Green tea is rich in catechins, a natural phenol antioxidant. The study gave participants daily doses of green tea with different concentrations of catechins over a period of 90 days. The conclusion of the study was that consuming green tea with high doses leads to a significant reduction in body weight, body fat and waist circumference.

Drinking tea reduces the risk of stroke as well.

UCLA did a study on stroke and tea consumption. The conclusion? Drinking 3 or more cups of tea, green or black, reduces your risk of stroke by 21 per cent.

In herbal medicine, tea is a stimulant and astringent. It comforts and drinker and gives one a feeling of wellbeing.

Tea is rich in caffeine and tannin. The caffeine in tea and tannin causes unnatural wakefulness if consumed in excess.

Tea increases acidity, hence people with peptic ulcers should avoid strong tea.

Tea in moderation is good for health, but in excess, it can be harmful.

Here’s how tea is made.

In 2008, the talented designer won the e CFDA/ Vogue magazine Fashion Fund Award. His work is edgy. Strong.

alexander wang fall winter 2013 fashion show

I love those boots.  They’d give any outfit an edge.

His opening sequence was categorised by that veil… or mask.. is it inspired by the flu season, one wonders.

His designs portray strength. I love the way he uses leather in his work.

Alexander Wang leather clothing fall 2012 winter 2013

He makes black leather twice as sexy. This is the perfect winter outfit when water turns to ice.

Alexander Wang black leather

Wang Alexander black leather mini skirt

Alexander Wang’s a genius.

Sleek sharp cuts that give your look that modern edge. That’s Alexander Wang.

lavender farm

What is aromatherapy

When French chemist René-Maurice Gattefossé burnt his hand in a lab accident and dipped his hand into the nearest inert liquid, he found that his hand healed much more quickly than expected and that his skin was unscarred in spite of the extent of the burn. He made a discovery that opened an entire field in natural medicine. In 1928, René-Maurice Gattefossé named this field aromatherapy.

In 1904, Cuthbert Hall showed that eucalyptus oil was a more potent antiseptic than eucalyptol or cineol that had been extracted from it.

Dr Jean Valnet, a French doctor and scientist treated medical and psychiatric patients, incorporating essential oils, and published the results in 1964 as Aromatherapie. He used essential oils to treat severe burns and battle injuries successfully.

Each essential oil is made up of many components. Some have relaxing properties, some repel insects, some kill bacteria, some have anti-viral properties, some anti-fungal properties, some antispasmodic properties.. the list goes on…

In France, aromatherapy is a recognized medical discipline.

What is lavender

Lavender essential oil is an aromatherapist’s first aid kit in a bottle.

Harvested from the beautiful lavender fields, the precious oil is extracted through distillation.

Lavender oil and tea tree oil the only essential oils that can be used neat, as in, undiluted on the skin.

Lavender is my favourite because of its many properties.

• analgesic
• antidepressant
• antiseptic
• bactericidal
• decongestant
• hypotensive
• insect repellent
• sedative
• vermifuge

Its active constituents include

• linalyl
• geranyl
• geraniol
• linalol
• cineol
• d-borneol
• limonene
• l-pinene
• caryophyllene
• butyric acid
• valerianic acid
• coumarin

Burnt your hand? Cut yourself? Pour lavender oil over the injury immediately and call the doctor if it is serious. Its antiseptic and pain relieving (analgesic) qualities make it excellent for treating injuries.

Stressed?

Mix  6 drops of lavender oil with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and massage yourself to relax.

Can’t sleep? Lavender oil is one of the natural insomnia remedies you can try. Put a few drops of lavender oil on your pillow before you sleep. Massage the soles of your feet with diluted lavender oil. (mix 2 drops in a teaspoon of olive oil)

Lavender oil is an excellent pain reliever for everything from menstrual cramps to body aches. Massage the affected area with diluted lavender oil.

Massage pure lavender essential oil into your temples to relieve a headache.

For acne, dot on undilute lavender oil on the pimples.

I don’t know about you, but I carry a bottle of lavender oil with me whereever I go.

It’s my first aid kit in a bottle.

References:

Aromatherapy an A-Z by Patricia Davis

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils by Julia Lawless

happy dancing penguin

Kids are fascinated with Penguins. These flightless birds are adorable.

Here are some funny penguin videos to light up your day. Share it with penguin loving kids too.

That’s one happy dancing penguin!

Here are penguins boarding an ice berg. So random and fun.

Are they honest?
Well.. are all humans honest?
Watch this and see for yourself.

Penguins are grateful creatures.

But whatever you do, don’t anger them too much..

Dianne designs ingenious dresses that flatter real women.

dianne von furstenberg wrap dress

Here’s an exclusive video of dianne von furstenberg Fall 2012 thru Winter 2013 runway collection.

This collection showcased fluid dresses in stark black and beautiful brights. Witty prints and clever ties characterised Furstenberg’s designs.

Dianne Von Furstenberg Winter 2013 prints

One outfit that took my breath away. The backless black dress. Gorgeous.

backless black dress

While I absolutely love her wrap dresses, I like it’s evolution into the wrap trench coat.

red leather wrap trench

The black trench coat.

black trench coat

The Wrap Dress

This is by far my favourite. You tie it at the waist, to cinch your waist, as it skims over your hips and thighs flatteringly, giving you a feminine, curvy look. If you’ve got a heavy chest, this makes you look sexier than ever. It’s a classic every girl should have.

It’s a very slimming design for women who are conscious about their big hips and thighs.

Because you tie the dress to fit your unique figure, it is always flattering.

Wrap dresses have become a fashion staple. Here are affordable dresses — 5 wrap dresses that you will love. Get them before they go out of stock.

Dianne Von Furstenberg’s outfits are accompanied by to die for shoes that are oh so gorgeous. Such that you’ll find pleasure in the pain from wearing them.

Strawberries are rich in Alpha hydroxyl acids or AHAs that are used to exfoliate the skin to reveal the softer younger skin beneath the flaky dead skin cells.

Get ready the following before you begin

• 1 washed strawberry
• 1 tablespoon rice flour
• Spring water
• Boiling water
• A basin
• A bath towel
• 1 handful of dried honeysuckle flowers or 1 handful fresh mint leaves
• freshly brewed chamomile tea without sugar or any additives
• clean face towel

Are you ready?

Wash your face.

1. Soak clean face towel in chamomile tea.
2. Scrub face clean with the towel.

Facial steam

1. Put mint leaves or honeysuckle flowers in basin.
2. Pour boiling water over it
3. Form a tent over your head and basin with the bath towel to trap the steam to cleanse your face, with your face 12 inches or 30cm above the basin
4. Let the steam cleanse your face for 10 minutes

Prepare a strawberry exfoliating mask

1. Crush the strawberry
2. Add 1 tablespoon of rice flour
3. Mix into a spreadable paste
4. Add spring water if necessary so that the mixture can spread easily over face
5. Apply on face, avoiding the eyes.
6. Leave on 5 minutes
7. Rinse off completely with water

You’re done. If you like, cleanse and moisturize your face with your usual skin care regime. Face should be really clean and glowing by the end of this.

cat playing iPad

That’s one lucky kitten. I want an iPad too!



Curiosity killed the cat. In this case, it got kitty stuck in a hamster ball.




Play dead kitty!



For the finale,
Funny cat pictures.



Well meaning people who have never experienced depression personally may tell a depressed person to snap out of it.

Unfortunately, that is not easily done.

You see, the levels chemicals within the brain of a depressed person are substantially different from one who does not suffer from this dog.

Depression is an illness which can be treated.

Medical science can treat depression. First, the chemical imbalance could be due to lower than normal levels of serotonin and dopamine in the brain. That’s something medicine can help.

SSRIs or Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors can work wonders if the right one at the right dosage is chosen. A medical doctor, in this case, a psychiatrist, is the person to approach for help in the case of depression. A psychiatrist is the one who prescribes the medicine and who adjusts the dosage based on the patient’s feedback. Regular sessions with the psychiatrist are necessary to monitor the progress of the patient and the efficacy of the drugs in treating this particular patient.

Drugs alone aren’t enough. They merely deal with the symptoms of a deeper problem. Counselling or talk therapy helps the patient uncover the root of the problem that triggered depression.

I have a confession to make. I’m not a doctor, but a patient currently undergoing treatment for depression, so I know how it feels like not to want to live anymore… how hard it is to drag myself out of bed to face yet another day.. what it is like to depend on medication to be able to go to work and to be productive in my job.

In my culture, there is a stigma associated with seeing a psychiatrist. I dare not let anyone know as I’m afraid it will be held against me in my course of work. Yet I want to.. I need to get cured. I have kids to raise. I also need to bring in the bacon.

I dealt with my depression naturally at first.

Running daily, with the endorphins responsible for the runner’s high help with chemical imbalance to some extent. Chocolates too help relieve the plunging lows, though that comes with the price — a ballooning waistline.

Talking it out with friends I trust keep me sane. Bottling up is unhealthy.  Carthisis, the purging of emothions through talking to a trusted friend is invaluable.

I had a miscarriage. I guess that was the trigger.  I turned to my doctor for help. My doctor referred me to psychiatrist.

The psychiatrist prescribed my medication, the SSRI fluroxamine at the lowest dosage. He was confident that would pull me out of this. After I’m back to normal, I’d have to keep taking the medication for another 6 months to stabilize then I can go off the medicine. After taking notes on my background and the stressors I face in life, the doctor was concerned that unless these are dealt with, the depression would relapse.

The psychiatrist’s role is to prescribe and monitor the medication. Coming to the root of the problem and helping the patient develop coping strategies would be the role of the counsellor — a social worker, religious worker, or from the medical profession — the psychologist.

I chose to see a psychologist.

My psychiatrist referred me to one. It’s basically talk therapy. She’s someone I can talk to with full assurance that none of the confidences will be broken.  She asked probing questions. I talked. She listened sympathetically. Talk therapy. Emotional purging in a safe environment. That was what I needed. At the end of it, her advice was simple –> to make time for myself and schedule in things I love, to do just for myself, twice a week. That I did. It really helps.

I’m confident of recovery. I also seek help from my God, Jesus Christ. I’m certain that sooner or later, I will be whole again.