Nail Polish Warning

BEAUTY & HEALTH

Check Your Bottles Of Polish

Alexandra Sifferlin of TIME.com is reporting that "nail polish manufacturers are under the heat lamp after chemical regulators in California found that many polishes claiming to be free of a “toxic trio” of chemicals actually contained high levels of the toxins.

State investigators from the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) randomly sampled 25 brands of polish, which are commonly used in more than 48,000 nail salons in California. These included several polishes claiming to be free of 

three dangerous toxins: 

toluene, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and formaldehyde 

—all of which have been linked to health problems ranging from asthma to cancer, the DTSC reports.

The DTSC’s testing found that 10 of 12 products claiming to be free of toluene actually contained it, and four of the brands had dangerously high levels. Five of seven products claiming to be “free of the toxic three” included high levels of one or more of the chemicals..."(Sifferlin, April 10, 2012) 

Click here, to read DTSC's report!

Eleven

 The 11 Questions Tag

I was tagged by the very talented and creative Shannon Scates at Wired & Inspired. I read her blog daily and the wanna-be-artist in me is always inspired. When you get the chance please do check out her blog and her Creativity 365 journey.

The Rules:
Post the rules.... Duh lol
You must post 11 things about yourself.
Answer the questions that your tagger posted for you.
Create 11 questions, then choose 11 people and tag them to answer your questions.
Remember to let them know you tagged them.
No tag backs...
Let the tagger know when you answered their questions.

11 Things About Me:

(Me, in between hair cuts) 

1. I am 23 years young. 

2. My favorite color is apple green.
3. I love children.
4. If I had a reality show my theme song would be "Price Tag" by Jessie J.
5. I like to surround myself with positive people; I'm allergic to negative ones - really, I am.
6. Anomalies interest me.
7. Fashion excites me.
8. I want to do more, give more, live more.
9. I want my actions to inspire others.
10. I have standards and their set high.
11. My strength comes from above.

Shannon's 11 Questions For Me: 
Q: Where would you like to travel to but have never been?
A: I would like to travel to more places than I have been. I am very interested in people and culture, so I would love to travel all around the world; first stop, Europe.

Q: What's a habit that you want to break?
A: I have a habit of being over critical of myself and it is a habit that I desperately need to break.

Q: If you could do your dream job, what would that be?
A: My dream job would allow me to encompass my passion for art and design with psychology. Art Therapy seems like a comparable solution, but I have yet to study within the field.

Q: Who is your favorite music artist?
A: I listen to a lot of music and I tend to go through my phases - rock, alternative, r&b, country, rap, jazz - but no matter what phase I am in I always listen to Kirk Franklin.

Q: Do you have any hidden talents?
A: Yes, graphic design.

Q: What award would you like to win and for what achievement?
A: It would be nice to win some type of Philanthropy award for establishing a place for children to go to grow and express themselves through art in third world countries; with a little elbow grease maybe one day I will win such an award.

Q: If you could step in a time machine, where and when would you travel to and why?
A: It would be nice to travel to the future to see what the world is like; then maybe I could come back to the present with ideas on how to make an impact on the world in a big way.

Q: Do you have any hobbies?
A: I'm so glad you asked. (**smile) I make jewelry - Pure Love. Also, I paint and sketch when I find the time. I would like to take on other hobbies - like knitting - to add another dimension to my art.

(A self portrait I did with magazine scrapes sophomore year in college; 

the original was transferred onto the cardboard seen above)   

Q: What made you smile today?
A: I smiled today after hearing a little girl's laughter. She was playing with her mothers braided hair and while doing so she asked repeatedly, "how do you braid hair?" Her mother replied each time "I will teach you." After the little girl asked a fourth time the mother replied, "if you ask me again I will scream." The little girl laughed and asked a fifth time "how do you braid hair?" Her laughter and harmless badgering made me smile.

Q: Top 3 most fun things you've done in life?
A: One- Visiting an alligator habitat in Miami, Florida.
Two-Vacationing in San Antonio, Texas with close friends for Spring Break.
Three- Jet skiing with my boyfriend in Ocean City, Maryland.

Q: Name one of the most inspirational people in your life and why?
A: My grandmother inspires me daily in so many ways; however, I admire her most for her willingness to give so much of herself to others.

My 11 Questions:
1. If you had a reality show what would your theme song be?
2. If you could have one super power, what would you choose and why?
3. What 3 words would you use to describe yourself?
4. What 3 words would a friend use to describe you?
5. Name one thing that you would like to do before you die?
6. What is your favorite color?
7. What is the most valuable life lesson you've learned?
8. If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?
9. What cause are you willing to fight for?
10. What do you like to do in your free time?
11. Name one woman that inspires you and explain why?

Your Turn...Tag Your It: 
1. Handbags & Fashion Rags
2. Just Angelina 
3. Storytale Shop
4. Not Just a Pretty Dress
5. Warm Inventions
6. Kayleigh Jean
7. My Pocketful of Thoughts
8. Controversial Thoughts of a Serial Thinker
9. Fashion Bug
10. Vinatgebell
11. Freaky Friday

Click here, to learn more about me.

Breakfast Worldwide

CULTURE & NUTRITION

What Are You Having For Breakfast?

I am sure that you all have heard that "breakfast is the most important meal of the day;" most likely you didn't give it a second thought, but you should. Breakfast is truly essential to a healthy lifestyle. It jump-starts your day; providing your body with strength and endurance. Despite, the obvious benefits of a healthy breakfast, some people still skip it. If only breakfast skippers knew that eating a healthy breakfast would help control their weight and stop those afternoon cravings then maybe they wouldn't skip it.

Nonetheless, I have highlighted 15 breakfast dishes from around the world; they are all apart of Victoria Philpott's 50 of the World's Best Breakfasts. Hopefully, some of the dishes will inspire you to either not skip breakfast or to get creative at breakfast time.

Breakfast in Australia 

"There’s only one crucial ingredient here, Vegemite. Travelling Aussies are often found with a sneaky pot of the sticky, salty brown stuff in their backpack..." However, there are those who prefer Marmite, instead of Vegemite. 

Breakfast in India

"Here we have rosemary roasted potatoes, Indian tofu scramble, lentils, veggie sausage and banana pepper toast. Breakfast cuisine in India varies hugely depending on the region but if you think of your Indian breakfast somewhere along these lines, you would be correct."

An Egyptian Breakfast 

"The breakfast of choice here is Foul Madamas. It’s made from fava beans, chickpeas, garlic and lemon. Above you’ll see the dish topped with olive oil, cayenne, tahini sauce, a hard boiled egg, and some diced green veggies..."

A Bahamas Breakfast 

“To be a Bahamian breakfast it must contain grits. Grits are dried ground hominy, or corn, for anyone not in the loop. You mix it with boiling water and the grits becomes a porridge. Its popularity came from slavery times when it’s all the slaves had to eat. Nowadays it’s topped with fat prawns and meat[s] to spice it up a bit...”

Icelandic Breakfast

"A hearty and hot breakfast to fight off the dark, icy mornings is what’s needed here. Hafragrautur, or oatmeal, is served with a sprinkle of brown sugar with a few raisins or nuts on top...”

Breakfast in Vietnam 

"Usually consists of some meaty treat dropped in a semolina/porridge mixture. What you see above is pork porridge. It features Chinese doughnuts, beansprouts, pork intestine stuffed with peppery pork mince, sliced pork heart, stomach slivers and blood pudding. A bit more interesting than toast and jam anyway..."

Breakfast in Iran 

"I usually features some sort of naan bread with butter and jam. When a light breakfast just isn’t going to hit the spot Iranians eat halim. Halim is a mixture of wheat, cinnamon, butter and sugar cooked with shredded meat in huge pots; [it is the Iranian version of  an omelet]. You can eat it hot or cold..." 

Breakfast in Bolivia

"Saltenas are a bit like empanadas crossed with Cornish pasties. They’re the traditional option for a Bolivian breakfast and usually filled with meat and vegetables, and slightly sweetened with sugar..."

A Canadian Breakfast

"That eggy looking section is actually perogies. Perogies are boiled, baked or fried dumplings made from unleavened dough and traditionally stuffed with potato filling, sauerkraut, ground meat, cheese, or fruit. Then you’ve got some sausages and toast to mop it all up..."

Breakfast in Denmark 

"On a Dane’s breakfast plate you’ll often find rye bread, cheeses, salami, ham, pâté, honey, jam and sometimes even thin ‘plates’ of chocolate. It came as a bit of a shock to me but my research has shown that bacon is not actually that popular! Dun dun durrrh. How can this be? Apparently they send in all to the UK..."

An Italian Breakfast

"A nation too fabulous for heavy breakfasts me thinks. Or maybe they’re saving themselves for a big cheesy pizza lunch and a pesto pasta dinner? (Although there’s nothing wrong with having them for breakfast you know) Either way an Italian eats on the run with a ‘cappuccino e cornetto’ aka a cappuccino and croissant..."

Malaysian Breakfast 

"A hot bowl of Mee – noodles mixed with egg, vegetable and tasty spices."

Breakfast in Colombia 

"There are a variety of regional staples to keep your stomach grumbles at bay throughout the day. In Cundinamarca this changua dish is very popular. It’s made from milk, scallions and cheese..."

Polish Breakfast

"Known locally as Jajecznica, a traditional Polish breakfast consists of scrambled eggs covered with slices of custom-made kielbasa and joined by two potato pancakes..."

The Famous American Breakfast 

 "Homemade thick pancakes with syrup and blueberries, topped off with a few rashers of bacon..."

All quotes were taken from Philpott's
 50 of the World's Best Breakfasts.