Women's Life Link Be Well, Be Happy, Be YOU!

In general woman seem to hold the purse strings when it comes to the family food budget, just as they primarily make the food choices. You may have noticed it a little more difficult to afford feeding your family lately, especially if you want healthy, organic food on your table.

Alex Wrekk started roasting her own coffee in 2005 for herself. It wasn't long until those around her took notice of her obvious gift for making a mean bean that could stand up to the best out there. Living in the Northwest, Alex knows the competition well.

Hey, I just wanted to let everyone know about a terrific women's online magazine called Time Finders. I have just joined the magazine as a new contributing author. If you get a chance, please check out this wonderful publication and my first article, Autumn: A Sentimental Journey. Let me know what you think of it.

As an Esthetician, I specialize in skincare of the face - the first thing other people notice when they meet you. Want to know what gets noticed second?

For some making friends (and keeping them) comes easily, and for others it seems to be a daunting chore that never seems to happen. Today, I was thinking about all of the people in my life whom I consider to be my friends, how we met, and how we continue to grow (or not) in our relationships. Have I been a good friend? Yes and no...nobody is perfect.

Do you ever feel like you are more healthy in one area of your life than you've ever been, and yet, another area is in the gutter? I'm kind of there right now. Let me explain.

In case you didn't know, we are electrical beings. Yes, we have enough power running through our bodies to put the electric companies out of business, if that was our purpose. But, thankfully, its not.

I've known some women who are innately simple and others who are the polar opposite...complicated. I, myself, am somewhere in the middle. I like challenge, but when things get too hard, I tend to drop activities like the proverbial hot potato.

You might have noticed that I'm on a rather organic/all-natural product kick right now. On my quest for some new personal care products that pass my standards, I discovered Aroma Artisan at Etsy, a company that sells exactly what I was looking for - cold process soaps and unique essential oils with custom fragrances.

Wellness Wednesday: Beating Inflammation If you have been keeping up with my 90 Day Health Challenge, than you know that I have a problem with inflammation. It causes headaches (ones that last much longer than they should), sore muscles and joints, and a fatigue that makes exercise difficult to say the least.

It saddened me every time I saw one of Patrick Swayze's photos on the cover of a magazine in the grocery. Though I'm sure that he didn't want his fans to feel sorry for him, it was hard to see such a vital, handsome man with a lively career in film languish in such a way.

All you have to do to be deceived these days is turn on the TV, open a magazine, jump on a website, or buy a beauty product that pictures a celebrity on the box. What we see is not real. It's not even close to real. When was the last time that you saw a woman on the cover of Vogue, Self, or even Good Housekeeping sporting acne scars, stretch marks, cellulite, or age spots?

Want to know the worst type of packaging for anti-aging ingredients? Jars! This is because ingredients such as vitamins C and A, which are antioxidants, are very unstable when exposed to oxygen and light. The same goes for enzymes such as COQ10 and those derived from pumpkin, papaya, and many others.

Liberation: Posing Nude, Shaving Your Head, and Skinny Dipping What makes a woman feel free? Is it dancing to her favorite tunes while no one is looking or driving down a country road at 75 MPH (that one might be more of a man thing)? Regardless of "what" makes us feel free, we need to at least try to break out of stale routines and inhibitions occasionally.

The weeks are really flying by here! Overall, I feel good about my progress with my self-induced program- a personal trainer would be nice, though. I think I'd be more inclined to go further with my fitness level; lunges are just no fun unless someone is standing over you barking, "One more, you can do one more, you lazy cow!