Time Warped by Claudia Hammond

As I have mentioned before, I read alot of fiction, but every once in a while I like to throw in a book of science or a biography, a memoir, something to shake things up. Time Warped is just what I needed.
Throw out all your ideas about what time is..this book will clear up plenty of misconceptions.
Why does life speed up as we get older? Why does the clock in our head sometimes move at a different speed from the one on the wall? We have all heard the old adage, a watched pot never boils..and it is true. Waiting in line 'takes forever" , waiting for a train to pass..same. We all have had these feelings about time, why do we? Can we retrain our brain to improve our relationship with time.
A couple of interesting things I learned by reading Hammond's book..1) that there is no organ in our body that keeps time. 2) That there is a species of Hummingbird that can accurately time a flowers replenishment of nectar/ which is  every 20 minutes. Amazing.

Loved the chapter about why time speeds up as we get older.  i.e.: While a week with nothing planned stretches ahead of you if you are eleven and it is summer vacation...as an adult, in the hopes of redecorating your house and before you are even halfway through, the week has rushed past.
Time has an impact on memory, memory shapes our experience of time. To make sense of our memories we rely on time  to link us to events , and develop a timeline. What intrigues Hammond about the sensation of time speeding up is that it is something we often discuss, but to which we never seem to become accustomed.
If you are looking for something just plain interesting to read, this is the book!

At the Bottom of Everything by Ben Dolnick

A very well written novel, At the Bottom of Everything is the first book by this author that I have read. In the beginning it looks like a story about a junior high/high school friendship, Adam & Tom, kids that became very close. Adam comes from a broken home, has a new stepdad. Tom comes from intellectual parents, just the sort that Adam relishes. So Adam starts spending all his time at the Pells' with Tom, two peas in a pod, more like brothers. Basically two good teenage boys, learning about girls, getting into very little mischief. Adam is the more social of the two and when he gets into sports and starts hanging with different kids, the friendship starts to fade.
One night trying to recapture the friendship, the two are involved in an accident that will change their lives forever. A guilty secret that they keep, decides which way these two lives will move forward, on separate paths.
Tom Pell heads into a spiral of mental illness, Adam Sanecki's life just never gets on track. A chance meeting with Pell's parents sets Adam on a journey to India in a search for his lost  friend. 
A very intricate tale is woven by author Dolnick. Is it guilt from the secret that has directed these two lives, the lives of Pell's parents, as well? What a person will go through to keep another from revealing a devastating secret..is this the motive for Adam? The last few chapters of this book are fast paced and written so that the reader can feel the panic build...and you do. At the Bottom of Everything..good read. 

SPA SONIC SKIN CARE SYSTEM FACE & BODY POLISHER

Have you ever seen the info-mercials with a certain soap star toting her micro-dermabrasion skin care system? Her skin is lovely  and I want to try it but just couldn't get up the nerve. Something about putting those rough looking crystals on a buffer and going to town on my face just didn't appeal to me, no matter how good she looked. 
But for the last couple of weeks, I've had the chance to try the Spa Sonic  Skin Care System and let me tell you there is nothing rough about it! The brushes are as soft as a baby's..well you get the idea :)
The brush head has four attachments: a small brush for face, a larger brush for body, a pumice (this I love for my feet!) and a facial sponge for smoothing on lotions. 
I brought it right into the shower with me, used the facial brush with my regular face cleanser, loved using the soapy soft body brush on my legs before shaving, loved-loved the pumice on my feet. When I got out of the shower, I just wiped it all down and put it back in the box. 
I can honestly say that my skin looked polished and shiny clean but didn't feel dry. Being able to use my regular skin care products is a big plus. My moisturizers absorbed sooo fast, I could start my make up right away. 
The price is right  and it is convenient to find. It is retailing for $60.00 and you can buy it at Target, Walgreens or online at www.drugstore.com. It is available in white, pink, and lavender..comes with a battery pack AND two facial brushes. 
A winner!

Help with the Cure

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Spa Sonic joins in the fight against breast cancer, a disease that affects one in eight American women.  15% of all sales on October 1^st – October 3^rd will be donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.  Here are all the details:   

Spa Sonic: Skin Care System Face & Body Polisher
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Treat yourself to an at-home spa experience that will make your skin feel silky smooth. Exfoliate, cleanse and smooth with this 7-piece face and full body kit. The waterproof device makes it easy to clean your face while in the shower and the dermal penetrating action allows the skin to rapidly absorb your skin care products. The Spa Sonic helps in tightening pores, reducing dark spots and removing dead skin. Limit 2 per person. Shipping is $9.95.

Join the Fight Against Breast Cancer, Be Adventuress

 

Adventuress, the skincare collection created for women on-the-go by outdoors enthusiast Michele Carter, is partnering with Bike4BreastCancer, a non-profit organization that provides women in low-income areas with the opportunity for pre-screenings, education and receive treatment for breast cancer.

From now until the end of October, Adventuresswill donate $1 from each Vividly Restorative Purifier purchase to the Bike4BreastCancerinitiative. The Vividly Restorative Purifier ($35) hydrates and firms skin while unblocking pores with the power of the quince seed and other naturally occurring fruit and plant extracts. Restore the look of skin for a youthful radiance morning, noon or night with the Vividly Restorative Purifier.

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Winning From Within by Erica Ariel Fox

LIFE is a series of negotiations. From insignificant daily decisions to major life choices, you negotiate every time you aim to persuade, argue over a decision or resolve a conflict. THe most important negotiations are the ones we have with ourselves..so says author Fox.
I found Fox to have a very interesting philosophy regarding the struggles a person has trying to make a decision, or decide to leave a relationship,  or take a new job..or even to take a stand on an issue. I had read a similar book long ago about all the different characters that reside in a person. Author Fox describes them as four negotiators..the Warrior, the Lover, The Dreamer and the Thinker. At any given time any one of these four can be dominant and react to a situation a person is facing.
I know you have met a person who is brusk, a take charge kind of person, one who dominates in a meeting or at work. This person operates through the warrior negotiator, which is fine as long as it is not the ONLY negotiator they use. We all have met people who are dreamers or brainiacs or over thinkers, or bleeding hearts..we all have these qualities inside..they all operate within us, we should be looking for a balance of all four according to Fox. Now, if this all sounds like psycho babble, trust me , it isn't and you will get it when you read the book. I have found this new insight helpful and plan to re-read the book, so that I can make some changes. I found that I lean more toward the dreamer & the lover when I need to make decisions and I need to add a good dose of thinker and warrior to my mix.
If you are looking for a good constructive read for October, this is it :)

pur minerals Correcting Primer

Another great  purminerals  product to talk about ! I have been lucky enough to try a few of these awesome skin care products and have added them to my skin care regimen.
I sampled the Redness Reducer primer and was so pleasantly surprised that this green (yes, green) tinted primer glides on like velvet and color corrects my red spots. I have had more compliments on my skin in the last couple of weeks and I have only added the primer to my daily routine, so I know what is giving my the glow!
Why use a primer? The function of a primer is to prepare your skin for make up. A primer also helps your make up last longer and helps to conceal your pores and imperfections. It creates a barrier between your skin and make up, helping my foundation do it's job.
After moisturizers soak in, I smooth on the primer and then my mineral makeup foundation...smooth as silk with a very even tone. Not just giving me an even tone and silky smooth surface but also brightening and firming my skin so that the foundation covers flawlessly.
As I said I tried the Green because I am trying to tone down the red sun spots on my face..the other primers are: Peach for color balancing, Lavender to hydrate & balance, and Neutral for prep & perfect.
Choose the right one for you.. but do choose one to add to your daily routine, you will love it as I do!!
                   purminerals products are available on line at purminerals.com

Paperboy by Tony Macauley

Oh, how I loved this book. I just wanted to get that right out of the way.
On the cover it says that Paperboy is an enchanting true story of a Belfast paperboy coming to terms with The Troubles. Absolutely take the word "enchanted" for FACT,  I couldn't put it down.
I have often wondered when I see & hear stories unfolding in worn torn countries...how do the people survive day to day? The poor children, how do they make it to old age? This book, is my answer. Tony Macauley gives us a kids eye view of life in Belfast, on Shankill Road in 1975. Bombs go off, people get beat up or killed day to day..sirens a constant noise in the ear.
"Belfast in the seventies was like the newspaper I delivered. Everything was black & white, albeit Orange & Green. Everything got smudged and ruined, like dark ink from the stories that dirtied my hands every day. I was a paperboy. Aged twelve. thin and easily crumpled. Blown around the streets by greater forces. More smart than tough. Yearning for peace, but living through Troubles. And yet I was happy with my calling. I was a good paperboy. I delivered."..Tony Macauley.
He loved the Bay City Rollers, he saved his money to buy the latest fashions to wear to the teen center that his parents ran, called the Westy. He hid from older kids who would be out at night ready to beat him up for his paper route money. He knew which days not to go to the grocery, because they usually got bombed on that day.. and he was in love with Sharon Burgess, who ended up breaking his heart:(  And all the while he delivered the Belfast Telegram, or the Belly Telly, with a dedication that I truly admire.
I love this kid..who now happens to be a grown man with a wife & kids . He is Managing Director of Macauley Associates, specializing in community development and conflict development ... what else would have become of the only pacifist paperboy in Northern Ireland?
Please do yourself a favor and read this book..I would lend you  mine but I just can't let go of it yet.
Oh and by the way, he was such a great paperboy that he got promoted to bread boy....
the name of the sequel!!