We girls go crazy for artistic designs and patterns and there’s no stopping us. Also, the latest trends and immensely exciting nail stamping plates don’t help us calm down either. The intricate and interesting dishes that really take your breath away are making their mark somehow. It’s becoming impossible for us to resist once we enter the store, isn’t it, guys? You probably want to buy it all, as the idea of ​​having those unique and delicate designs on your nails makes you dizzy and I completely understand why.

However, one must know certain things before evaluating the beauty of nail stamping plates and end up spending much more than what you had decided.

• Size Matters
You not only need to see the size of the plates but also your nails. You should know that not all sizes are the same. Manufacturers’ shape and size count is different, so if a plate from one brand fits you, it doesn’t mean the other brand will. Measure accurately.

• The categories
Basically, there are three types on the plates, full nail images, small designs and French tip designs. Usually the full size is the easiest, you just need to pass the stamp accurately, just to see that the design fits perfectly on your nails.

The smallest ones tend to be complicated, as they require settling in a specific and orderly place, with delicate prints like animals, flowers and more. And the tip impressions are harder than the other two and one needs good practice before applying.

• Quality purchase
Nail stamping plates or let’s say magic nail art is becoming a profitable industry. Naturally, there is competition and manufacturers are certainly fighting for your attention. Make sure you do the necessary research and get the best deal possible. If you buy it online and feel like the price is pretty low, be aware of certain flaws here and there on the plate. One should be very tactful when purchasing nail stamping plates or nail decals for that matter. I know a great task, right?

• Sheet metal scrapers? A strict No!
Scrapers of this type tend to ruin metal plates while scraping them. You can experiment with laminated cards as they are quiet, easy to use and useful. Buy thin, flexible cards, or you can even use gift cards, credit cards, plate scrapers, or any membership card.

• Check the brand’s social media page to check your satisfaction.
Yes! It is essential and probably the most crucial part, as we all know that digital media rules the world today. We come to know what is good or bad through him. So, check if the brand page consists of multiple negative comments and if they are doing something to solve the problem.

If there are happy comments like ‘I got the lovely dishes today’ or ‘I can’t wait to use this’ etc, then it’s a good sign. Also check the bloggers post and what they are wearing and what they give you preference for. This helps you make a detailed decision, one that you will not regret later.

However, nail stamping plates are a beautiful thing and I honestly don’t know how I would have flaunted my nail art masterpiece without these amazing plates. So, what are you waiting for? Get the prettiest one now!

You can lose ten pounds this year without lifting a weight, without starting a diet, and without tying your running shoes. In fact, it’s what you DON’T DO that will shed those ten pounds. Just DO NOT eat those extra 100 calories a day.

100 calories is easy to find, we’ll go over that later. Here’s why it works:

By skipping 100 calories per day, you are eating 36,500 fewer calories per year.

(100 calories a day x 365 days a year = 36,500 calories). It takes a decrease of 3,500 calories to lose one pound of fat. A 35,000 decrease adds up to 10 pounds of fat … 10 pounds of excess fat off your body!

According to the American Heart Association, in 2005, there were 140 million people who were overweight or obese in the United States. 72 million of them were men, 68 million women. Being overweight is defined as a BMI of more than 25. Obesity is a BMI of 30+. Overweight and obesity – Statistics.

Just think how well you can do if you add exercise as well. If you burn 100 calories a day through exercise and skip another 100 from food, it will equal 200 calories a day. That, in turn, will equal twenty pounds of fat removed from your body this year! Burning 100 calories with exercise is easy: (at a casual pace, for a 150 pound person) Bike for 10 minutes, jog for 12 minutes, play tennis for 15 minutes, walk for 30 minutes. Get started today!

100 extra calories you can do without:

1.1 can of soda (12 ounces)

2. ½ of a Klondike ice cream bar

3. 1/3 of a good mood ice cream sandwich

4. 1 tablespoon mayonnaise

5.2 McDonalds Chicken McNuggets

6.15 fries

7. 6 fries

8. 15 fries

9. 2 tablespoons sugar

10. 1/3 order of Arby’s little curly fries

11. 1 tablespoon butter

12. 1 pretzel stick

13. ½ order McDonalds French fries (small)

14. 1 can of iced tea (12 ounces)

15. 1 slice of white bread

16. ½ glass of chocolate milk

17. 1 normal beer

18. 2 Oreo cookies

19. 1 drink of most liquors

20. ½ glass of wine

21. Reese’s 8 Piece BITE Size

22. 2 Kit Kat sticks

23. ½ Milky Way Midnite

24. 2 ½ Mini Milky Way

25. ½ Dunkin Donuts Chocolate Frosted Donut

26.5 marshmallows

27. ½ brownie (most brands)

28. 2 ½ Burger King chicken fillets

29. 1 ounce Burger King Honey Mustard Sauce

30. ½ order Burger King French Fries (small)

31. 2 tablespoons pancake syrup

32. ½ cup sherbet (most brands)

33. ½ cup sherbet (most brands)

34.1 tablespoon peanut butter (most brands)

35. 2 large ravioli (most brands)

36. 5 ravioli, mini (most brands)

37. 1/3 slice of cake (most brands)

38. 1/3 piece of cake (most brands)

39. 1 ounce pasta (most brands)

40. 2 ‘pigs in a blanket’ (most brands)

41. 2 slices of bacon (most brands)

42. ½ buttermilk cookie (most brands)

43. 2 tablespoons hollandaise sauce

44. 1/3 of a cinnamon bun

45. 2 Mini TWIX

46. ​​½ bag of M & M’s

47. 2 tablespoons caramel syrup

48. 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup

49. 2 chips Ahoy! Chocolate chip cookies

50. 2 Oreo cookies

51.20 croutons (most brands)

52. 2 tablespoons cream cheese (most brands)

53. 1/5 Dairy Queen Choc. Blizzard chip cookie dough (small)

54. 2 tablespoons cake frosting (most brands)

55.1 ice cream cone (empty)

56. 1 KFC stick (normal)

57. 2 tablespoons pesto sauce (most brands)

58. 1/3 piece of frozen French bread pizza (most brands)

59.1 pudding (small)

60. 2 tablespoons Caesar salad dressing (most brands)

61.4 tablespoons BBQ sauce

62. 2 tablespoons of pecan ice cream topping

63. ½ of a bun or hamburger roll

64. 1/3 cup half and half cream

65. 3 tablespoons sour cream

66. 3 tablespoons sweet and sour sauce

67. ½ cup frozen yogurt

68.1 waffle

69. ½ of a White Castle Bacon Cheeseburger

70. 3 White Castle Chicken Rings

71.3 cups popcorn (popped)

72.1 cup buttered popcorn (popped)

73. 1 bite of a Burger King hamburger (assuming you take 7 bites to finish it)

74. ¼ McDonalds sausage cookie

75. 1/6 of a McDonalds Big Mac

76. ¼ Burger King’s Croissan’wich, sausage and cheese

77. 1 ounce cookie dough

78. ½ slice of pizza

79. 6 Ritz cookies

80. 5 kisses from Hershey

81. ¼ Wendy’s Frosty (medium)

82. ½ Chile Wendy’s (small)

83. ¼ Arby’s Breakfast Cookie with Sausage

84. ¼ Arby’s Beef and Cheddar sandwich

85. 10 junior mints

86. 2 Mint Empanadas from the Andes

87. 1 TWIX stick

88. 1/3 of muffin (medium)

89. 1/3 of a Danish

90.4 tablespoons of sauce (for French fries)

91. ½ popsicle (most brands)

92.3 caramel candies

93. ½ cup chocolate covered raisins

94. 1 ½ ounces of steak

95. ¼ cup cranberry sauce

96. Pepperoni (enough for 2 slices of pizza)

97.2 tablespoons tartar sauce (most brands)

98. ¼ cup Alfredo sauce

99. 1 Kellogg’s Pop-Tart

100.1 hot dog (most brands, no bread)

Hepatitis C is the leading cause of liver transplants in the US (See CDC website)

With 10,000 people dying each year from hepatitis C, this is a VERY serious problem. That is more than 1 person every hour. Every day 8 to 10 people die while waiting for a liver transplant.

Hepatitis C is a LONG-TERM disease that can take YEARS to show symptoms.

Many famous people have had hepatitis C and ended up with liver transplants or died of liver disease, such as: Evel Knievel, Mickey Mantle, who died shortly after a liver transplant in 1995, Keith Richards, Naomi Judd, who had to retire earlier of time. successful musical career to undergo PegInterferon treatments, Freddy Fender, who died in 2006 after a liver transplant in 2004, Natalie Cole, daughter of Nat King Cole, Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers band and Pamela Anderson.

A little history about hepatitis C: its cause is the hepatitis C virus (HCV), which is mainly transferred from one human being to another through the blood, before 1992 it was carried out through blood transfusions, but it is also contracted through unsterilized needles in drug use, tattoos, and piercings.

Until recently, it was a disease that had no known treatment or cure according to the medical establishment. Now PegInterferon alfa-2a and 2b Weekly SHOTS along with daily ribavirin pills are the only “recognized” treatment for hepatitis C. And at a cost of almost $ 20,000 for the 42 week treatment with a success rate of approximately 40 %.

And now the BAD news, like if $ 20,000 is no longer bad enough or a liver transplant could be over $ 267,000, the use of PegInterferon and Ribavirin has a number of disappointing side effects. They are:

• Depression
• Fever
• Shaking chills
• Muscle pains
• Tired
• Headaches
• Bread set
• Nausea
• Stomach cramps
• Dry mouth
• Loss of appetite
• Weightloss
• Trouble sleeping
• Diarrhea
• Dry Skin
• Hair loss
• Throat pain
• Unusual bleeding
• Vomiting
• Jaundice
• Breast bread
• Vision changes
• Seizures
• Symptoms similar to those of a stroke
• Irregular heartbeat
• Allergic reactions
• Difficulty breathing

See (MedicineCabin)

Wow, that’s a daunting list, especially for 43 weeks or more.

Of course, if you had hepatitis C and insurance that covered the cost of the treatments, you would rather face the side effects than die or have to have a liver transplant. Who can blame you?

HERE IS THE VERY *** GOOD NEWS ***!

I have a friend who was diagnosed with hepatitis C about 15 years ago. He had done some research on “alternative” methods of treating this disease and found a very inexpensive way to treat hepatitis C without ANY side effects.

When he was diagnosed with hepatitis C, his viral count was above 3.5 million, taking this alternative treatment without having to really change anything in his lifestyle or diet, in 12 weeks the viral count had dropped to just over 1 , 5 million and is now constantly growing. the range of 15,000 to 20,000. Obviously, SOMETHING he was doing succeeded!

What he used was a treatment found in a burn ointment / ointment and wound healing gauze, approved by the FDA and found to be MOST effective in stopping infections from viruses, bacteria or germs. It is an element in the Periodic Table, its Periodic Table reference is number 47 with a symbol for Ag, better known as Silver.

You couldn’t just suck on a silver dollar and get better, silver had to be electrolyzed in pure distilled water and then drunk in small amounts.

When studying the subject of ionized or coliodalized silver, he theoretically discovered that when these tiny silver particles were inside the body, they incapacitated cells infected by the hepatitis C virus. The EXACT science of A-VAg47 is not known because Major studies are RISK showing that A-VAg47 could be a BETTER alternative to highly cost-effective proprietary drugs.

In short, if you have hepatitis C, you could take a $ 20,000 synthetic interferon by sticking a needle into your stomach once a week for 42 weeks and taking a pill once a day plus the antidepressants you will need to counter depression and tolerate depression. Most of the known side effects listed above OR you can get an A-VAg47 Maker and make your own A-VAg47 daily or per gallon for about $ 0.25 a day with no side effects. Just a thought.

If I was diagnosed with hepatitis C, I would personally try the A-VAg47 route for about 6 months to see if it can control hepatitis C and if not risk PegInterferon and ribavirin and their side effects. Personally, I’d rather drink a glass of ionized silver water with no side effects than stick myself in the stomach once a week with a needle and have a ton of undesirable side effects. Unless you are in an advanced stage of liver disease diagnosis, A-VAg47 appears to be a safer route to try.

One last note, DO NOT believe all the hype about alternative medicines, we KNOW that 120,000 people die every year from misdiagnosis, mixing of medicines and medicines that have fatal adverse reactions to each other. Unlike not a single death from anyone who has taken A-VAg47.

Disclaimer: I am not a physician or registered / licensed medical professional of any kind, the information in this article is for educational purposes and should not be used to diagnose, treat, or cure any medical condition. Seeking appropriate medical expertise is recommended.

Robin Leech hosted a television show called “The Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous.” At the time, it was one of the hottest things on television. America is obsessed with the lives of celebrities. This was the popularity fuel behind Robin Leech’s show. It gave average people a glimpse inside the houses of celebrities. Now, there are 24-hour news channels and shows like “The Fabulous Life Of” to keep that celebrity fixation alive.

One aspect he focuses on when determining celebrity rankings is money. The more money a celebrity has, the more famous that individual is considered. Money is considered to be the key celebrity metric. Who is doing what? How is it done? How is it spent? These are the questions that average Americans ask their celebrities.

Pop and rock musicians make most of their money from record sales and proceeds from concert tours. Hip hop and rap musicians make their money presiding over empires that go far beyond that of music. Many of the hottest hip hop artists oversee their own clothing line, run their own record labels, and even run their own restaurants and bars. A few even ink their image on everything from alcohol to books. Branding and cross promotions are the areas in which these people become experts.

Hip hop artist Jay Z makes money as CEO of Def Jam Recordings. On top of that, he has a clothing line called roccawear and records albums in his spare time. Worth $ 34 million, Jay Z spends his hard-earned money buying a share in the New Jersey Nets. He also has a stake in the 40/40 clubhouse franchise. He recently sold the clothing line for an estimated $ 204 million.

Like Jay Z, Sean “Puffy” Combs manages multiple projects often at the same time. It is currently worth $ 28 million. This comes from the sales of his latest album Bad Boy Worldwide. It also comes from earnings from his popular clothing line, Sean John clothing. He has a reality show called “Making the Band” that is a huge hit. As a result, Sean Combs has purchased several restaurants across the country. In the world of celebrity riches, there is no price too small or too big.

How to breathe and sculpt your way to the flat ballerina belly!

Dancers have beautiful, strong and sexy centers

Whether you’re watching new TV shows like Dancing with the Stars on ABC USA or So You Think You Can Dance on Fox TV USA, you can see that all the dancers have sexy flat abs that are not bulky or thick. They are absolutely stunning to watch, both women and men.

The biggest testament to how dance moves and dance technique shape abs is watching the competitors start to compete and the final episodes. Their bodies transform into even more beautiful and sexy shapes from the first show to the end. I am convinced that dance and dance technique define your body so much that I have my athletes, professionals and novices do dance moves and use the philosophy of dance to prepare them for their competitions.

Suck and poke

While lying on your back with your knees bent, place your feet flat on the floor at the hips. Relax your neck and shoulders. Begin each abdominal exercise with this technique. Suck in your abs and press them back and down on the pelvic floor. Next, tuck your pelvis down so that your tailbone points skyward. This allows your lower abs to become flat. This technique creates great abdominal definition and greatly increases overall strength. Thus, you have the secret abdominal training technique of the dancer Suck and Tuck.

In this position, powerful breathing is done by breathing slowly and deeply through the nose for approximately 75% of lung capacity. Breathe into your stomach using your diaphragm. Exhale through your mouth covering your teeth with your tongue and hiss while tensing your abs until you get a full contraction. This should be done at the rate of four counts or four seconds. Four seconds up, four seconds down. Breathe in before doing push-ups or contractions, and breathe out as you roll down or return to the starting position. Hold the position at the top for a count of four and inhale again, then exhale and roll back down.

Instructions for a complete game

4 counts curving up – Press and hold 4- Scroll down 4 counts

A set sounds like this

Inhale four counts, while snuggling, exhale four counts

Hold at the top and inhale four counts

Exhale as you go down four counts.

This can be done with basic crunches or any series you want to put together.

When you’re ready to exercise, practice this technique when doing your sit-ups as well. It’s a total secret that helps your abs tighten and your lower abdomen flatten while you lose weight!

Enjoy!

Second grade was a very special year for me. It was in second grade that we really started developing close friendships and telling secrets. It was kind of exciting to know something about himself that his parents didn’t know.

Like falling into the swamp on the way to school. That was the day my second grade teacher, Ms. Bjorklund, became my hero. She never told anyone what happened. He could have taken us to the principal and betrayed us on our parents, but he didn’t. I thought she was wonderful, she was one of us.

It was a warm Friday afternoon in May. The twenty-second grade students were all fidgeting at their desks, nervously glancing at the clock. Ms. Bjorklund always made us sing after 3:00 on Fridays. She was not so foolish as to try to teach something to young children who are anxiously looking at the long hand of the clock, to pass the minutes. There are only thirty minutes left.

We were singing my favorite second grade song “Carmelita.” It said “Oh sing your song Carmelita please Carmelita please sing your song for me. It won’t take long Carmelita please Carmelita please sing your song for me. And the donkey advanced happily, he walks with a joyous clip “. clop “That was a great song, I especially loved the clip clop part.

Ms. Bjorklund was leading us in song when Mr. Katon poked his head around the door. He was our director. He was a very good man. He stuck his head out to wish us a good weekend every Friday. He was friendly, had a big smile and I think he was very tall. I think he was tall, I don’t know because I was seven years old, they all seemed tall to me.

He gave us a smile as we sang and went to close the door but it slammed shut. We had the windows open so the air pressure would catch him off guard. However, it was okay, we didn’t miss a beat singing.

As the minutes passed, we were all nervous and excited. When you grow up on Lake Superior, warm spring days are a big deal. In fact, you can run and play without worrying about the cold. The weather was perfect for games of hopscotch or Chinese rope. We loved playing those games when we were kids. Those were the video games of my youth. You couldn’t do it on the inside or alone.

So it was 3:25, Mrs. Bjorklund gave us the go-ahead to put away our books and tidy up our desks so they would be clean and tidy by Monday. We were all excited. We couldn’t wait to be released. It was like opening the door of a ranch when all the cattle are running like crazy.

Another great thing about second grade is that there is no homework. Our task was to help around the house. Cleaning the chandelier with my older sister or sweeping. It was too small to vacuum.

Finally, the last ten seconds. I watch the forced movement of the long hand of the clock as it ticked off the seconds. Then the doorbell rang. Thank goodness we all stood up and headed for the door.

Why didn’t the door open? I heard someone say that the door was stuck. We were all hanging around and some of the kids started to look worried. Ms. Bjorklund came to see what was going on, told us to go back so he could open the door.

He turned the knob, nothing happened. Then he pushed open the door. Nothing happened. He shook the door, nothing happened.

The children were getting more and more upset. A child, the director’s son, was crying. He said he would be late for a date with Kerri T. I know we were only seven years old, but we were very sophisticated. He was going to meet her on the slide and they were going to play on the merry-go-round. Very sophisticated.

Ms. Bjorklund returned to the front of the room and sat down at his desk. She was thinking of a way to save us. We all sat back in our seats, staring at her. We knew she could think of something, she was an adult. She could save us.

She had a thought. We all wrote notes and tucked them under the door. Someone would see the notes, pick them up, and save us.

So we write notes feverishly, asking for help. We were trapped and we needed help. We were a bit dramatic. I mean, we were on the first floor, tons of windows, and we had running water. Wait, we didn’t have a bathroom. Now that’s a problem. We were only seven years old, we didn’t have much time before someone had to leave.

Therefore, pushed by the notes under the door and go out into the hall and we wait. We waited and waited, but no one came. That got us thinking. Who were we waiting for? The bell had rung 10 minutes ago on a warm Friday afternoon. The buses were gone and it seemed like everyone else had gone too.

A couple more kids were starting to cry and the rest of us were getting anxious. We had been waiting all week for Friday night and they allowed us to stay out a little later due to the warm weather. We had to get home, there was Scottish hop to jump in and Barbies to play with, bikes to ride. We were all busy that night, we needed to get out of there. I’m sure no one else noticed this, but we were actually little adults with big plans. Friday night, playing hopscotch, was our social calendar and it was time to go.

Ms. Bjorklund was thinking back at his desk. Then he started looking out the windows. That was it !!! We would send someone out the window. We were on the first floor. The windows were opened, so it had to be someone small to get through the hole. Who could it be ????

We had a volunteer, Timmy Fleck. Timmy came from a great family. All the children looked alike. Small, skinny mounts, freckles and a mop of red hair. I had a feeling that Tim might have actually come out these kinds of windows before. He was that kind of kid, always living on the edge.

One day in art class we were all wearing our art robes (our dad’s old shirt backwards), our art teacher gave each of us a piece of charcoal. We were supposed to draw a picture of a house. So while we were all trying to do this, Timmy raised his to go to the boys’ room.

He went in there and drew a beard, mustache, and eyebrows with the charcoal. Then he went back to class. I don’t think I would have ever laughed so hard in school before or since. It was the funniest thing a seven year old did that I witnessed. He got into trouble.

So when he volunteered to go out the window, none of us were surprised.

He climbed onto the window sills and Mrs Bjorklund made him come out the window, grabbed him by the ankles and started pushing him. There was only one problem. It didn’t fit.

It looks like Timmy had some kind of growth spurt in second grade. I hadn’t really noticed it before, but it was getting bigger. Despite this, he was still the smallest boy in the class.

Ms. Bjorklund dragged him inside. Two or three more children were crying.

We were never going out. We would die there. Our parents joined in and looked for us. When our poor flabby bodies were finally discovered, it would be too late. The whole town would be sad. There would not be a church large enough to keep all the grieving families.

They would all be so sad and sing our favorite song. Yes, they would learn “Carmelita”. Maybe they even get a donkey to pull the cart for the coffins. Perhaps the donkey could even walk with a cheerful clop. It was so sad.

In a few years, the children will follow the example we gave them. We die in school, learning things and they would remember us for it.

Boy, was he dramatic at seven.

Then I heard a knock !! At the door, someone was knocking! We all applaud !!! It was Mr. Katon, he was there, he would save us. Ms. Bjorklund ran to the door and told him that it was stuck and that he couldn’t open it.

Mr. Katon told him to get away from the door and all the children to go back through the windows. So we all huddled by the windows. This was so exciting, like an episode of Lassie when dad finally follows Lassie to rescue the little boy.

Mr. Katon removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. With his shoulder down, he ran to the door and slammed it with all his might. It escapes.

We all cheer and cheer. We were saved !! Mr. Katon saved us. We were all happy and smiling. This was the best day of my life. It was as if a superhero had saved us. He saved us from death, saved us from getting in trouble for missing dinner, saved us from growing up and getting married and having children and telling them the powerful story of how we look death in the face and laugh.

OK, I’m still dramatic.

Looking back on that day seems like a lot of fun now. It sure wasn’t funny when it happened. I am still afraid. It’s funny, being scared now feels no different than being scared back then. I’m just afraid of different things now. I’m afraid AA is a lot like being locked in a classroom on a Friday after noon. I have so many things to do, I’m in a rush to get out, I want and need to go see my friends, but just like in second grade, the door is closed.

Mr. Katon is not coming to break down the door for me this time. I need to do it myself. If little Timmy Fleck can volunteer to go out the window and be held by the ankles off the ground, surely I’ll be able to get out there and face whatever is there.

Heroes come in all sizes, from great Mr. Katon to little Timmy Fleck, they are all heroes in our lives. Our greatest hero is the one within all of us. The little voice that says “I’m still here, you can do anything if you try.”

So, what are you waiting for? It’s Friday afternoon, it’s nice, go get um !!!

Hair loss affects more than 35 million men in the United States. Let’s face it … We are all obsessed with our hair.

Whether it’s ‘long, straight, curly, fuzzy, tangled, hairy, ragged, matte, oily, greasy, fuzzy, shiny, shiny, dripping … or spaghetti’, we all want it.

Hair loss can damage our self-esteem, confidence, and relationships.

The search for hair is an eternal search, encompassing gender, age, and social status.

Once you have it, here are some ways to style it.

Men’s changing hairstyles over the years

In the 1950s, Elvis burst onto the scene as a music and style icon, and movie idols like Tony Curtis set the tone for clothing, fashion, hair, and good looks.

Both Elvis Presley and Tony Curtis had black hair slicked back into a ‘duck tail’, or DA (for duck ass). The hair on the sides of the head was combed and oiled back with Brylcreem, meeting at the back in a look that resembles the ass of a duck and giving rise to the rebellious teenagers known as ‘greasers’.

John Travolta was the quintessential greaser as Danny Zuko in what else? – the Broadway show and the movie Grease.

Also popular in the 1950s was the masculine pompadour: hair combed at the front and named after Madame de Pompadour, the mistress of Louis XV. Ricky Nelson, a teenage heartthrob from the 1950s, had one.

More recently, Silvio Dante on The Sopranos had a pompadour and, to a lesser extent, so did Conan O’Brien, former host of Late Night with Conan O’Brien.

When the Beatles came to America in 1965, Beatlemania was unleashed bringing new trends and styles, including Beatle boots and Beatle cuts, or ear-length hair with bangs. It was all the rage and became a sign of social discontent.

In the 1960s, black men (and women) turned black and declared that “black is beautiful.”

Afros gave way to dreadlocks in the 1970s popularized by Bob Marley and to Jheri curls. Think of Samuel L. Jackson in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film, Pulp Fiction.

The ubiquitous fluff was everywhere in the ’70s. Popularized by rockers like Rod Stewart, the style was’ unisex’, worn by both men and women.

The best known woman with a fuck was Farah Fawcett. Who can forget his iconic poster with the red one-piece swimsuit?

Punk rock brought mohawks and spiked jewelry.

Nikki Sixx and Bon Jovi epitomized the great hair of the 1980s.

Fast forward to the 1990s. Men’s hair is shorter. Head shaving, as a way to deal with male pattern baldness, is in vogue, popularized by sports figures Michael Jordan and Andrà © Agassi, as well as actor Bruce Willis on Die Hard.

Currently, Emo is in fashion, worn by both Justin Bieber and Adam Lambert, the runner-up on American Idol. The style is layered, spiked, and brushed towards the face, sometimes with hits of bright colors, such as pink or green.

Whichever style you choose, there are a few that you should avoid.

Think of Duane “Dog” Chapman – and his messy mullet – and the ubiquitous comb, used to disguise hair loss, worn by celebrities like Donald Trump, John McCain and even Homer Simpson.

The less said about these styles, the better.

Your hair should enhance your appearance, style it wisely.

A personal brand is about what you say, how you say it, what you do, how you do it, and how you look while doing it. But, Personal Branding is not about showing off to others. Here are some good examples of personal brands.

Tiger forest. What a magnificent personal brand. Even the name grabs you. (What if his nickname had been “Poodle?”) Tiger! Relentless, ruthless. Tiger! You can hear the roar of a tiger. The fist pump at the end of a good shot. Aggressive. Your brand is so strong that you earn much more for being your personal brand than for playing the game! And he is better playing golf. Is there a lesson in this? Yes. The personal marketing of your personal brand can play as important a role in your success as your actual performance.

Arnold schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger, in the 1984 film The Terminator, said three words that allowed him to win the election as governor of California 20 years later. Those three words were: “I’ll be back.” Those three words drove and defined the Schwarzenegger brand. Those three words stuck with him for two decades and stuck in the minds of enough voters. “I’ll be back,” he suggested that he would be powerful in times of crisis, resolved when things were tough, focused, and determined. Without those three words, there is no Schwarzenegger in political office. What is the lesson here? Words have power. What you say and how you say it can make or break you.

Austin, Texas has a strong brand. When I travel across the country, people always ask me, “Where are you from?” When I say Austin, Texas, they say, “It’s a really nice place. What a great place to live!” In most cases, these people have never been to Austin. But they know the brand. They talk about the music … the barbecue … the rolling countryside. And Austin has drawn large numbers of people from some of the other most sought-after cities. These people, who could live anywhere, choose Austin over New York, San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago … Brand Austin attracts a lot of the right people. What is the learning here? If your personal brand is right, you will attract the right kind of people to your side.

I have been wearing bow ties since I was 4 years old. I like them and have collected hundreds over the years. The look has become such an important part of my personal brand during formal events that I dare not appear without my bow tie. There have even been times when I dressed casually while traveling on vacation and people came up to me and said, “Where’s your bow tie?” What is the lesson here? Your audience has expectations of you and is disappointed if you don’t meet those expectations. This applies to your job performance, your appearance, and your style. Everything. What is your brand? You project it in each contact with others.

A survey from the MarriageAdvice website asked, “Is it okay to live together before getting married?” Of the 429 respondents, 60% believed it was okay to live together. This number is consistent with a National Survey conducted with high school seniors who were asked a similar question. Again, 60% felt it was okay to live together before marriage.

If we look at one of today’s prominent star couples, it appears that Tom Cruse and Katie Holmes are following the national trend of living together and even having children out of wedlock.

On April 18, 2006, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes became the proud parents of a little girl, Suri. Although they got engaged in June 2005 and are talking about a summer wedding, they have yet to get married.

Their relationship may be in line with the recent MarriageAdvice website survey and national trends, but what does the social science evidence tell us about these trends?

Social studies tell us that, at first glance, Tom and Katie are just following the trends of the day. However, what many people don’t know is that living together is not really the best way to prove your compatibility or to raise children.

Beth Young, lead editor of the MarriageAdvice website, expressed concern about this continuing trend. She said: “Logic can tell the average person that a ‘trial marriage’ is a great preparation for the real thing. Then they can see how it gets along and solve any problems before they get married. However, social science studies disprove this belief. “

There are many studies that have been carried out on living together before marriage. One of the more recent articles by Barbara Dafoe Whitehead and David Popenoe discussed the “State of our unions.”

Coexisting unions weaken the institution of marriage

Many studies have found that “cohabiting unions tend to weaken the institution of marriage and pose clear and present dangers for women and children. Specifically, research indicates that:

– Living together before marriage increases the risk of breaking up after marriage.

– Living together outside of marriage increases the risk of domestic violence for women and the risk of physical and sexual abuse for children.

– Unmarried couples have lower levels of happiness and well-being than married couples.

So living together doesn’t just do more harm than good to long-term relationships, another alarming concern is that children born in a cohabiting relationship are at a higher risk of sexual abuse and physical violence than children raised in a cohabitation relationship. married home. To top it all, there is a greater risk of parents breaking up in a cohabiting relationship than in a marital relationship.

Teach children

Young was asked why the belief continues that living together is a good approach for long-term relationships, if all studies show that it is not the best approach. She said: “It is clear that parents, teachers, counselors and religious leaders must take on the task of educating our young people that living together is not really the best preparation for marriage or a preventive strike against divorce.

Our youth need to understand the importance of maintaining and strengthening the ‘traditional family unit’ as the fundamental unit of society. “

How do we prevent divorce?

The tendency to coexistence has evolved due to the increase in divorces in recent decades. Some statistics state that 50% of marriages end in divorce. Therefore, it is a legitimate concern for our young adults.

However, if living together is not a good answer to stop the wave of divorce, what is? Young explained, “There is good news to be gleaned from some of these studies. They have found that while living together does not appear to reduce the divorce rate, there are other variables that come into play regarding divorce, and the insights are encouraging. “

These studies have found that if you are educated (have had some college), have a decent income, come from an undivorced family, are religious, married after age 25, and had no children for at least 7 months after your death. If you are married, your chances of getting divorced are slim.

Even if you don’t have all of these factors in your marriage, each factor reduces the chance of divorce rearing its ugly head in your relationship.

Planning for a lifetime of marriage

Armed with this knowledge, young adults can shape their life goals according to tangible standards that will help their chances of a lasting marriage.

The message is clear, stay in school, prepare to work in a field that pays a living wage, wait until 25 to get married, and have no children out of wedlock.

When asked if these “standards” are achievable, Young explained, “These are lofty goals, but they are all achievable regardless of whether you come from a family that has experienced divorce or not.”

There’s still hope

So is there hope for baby Suri to grow up in a traditional family setting? Is there hope that Tom and Katie not only get married but also stay together?

Young said vehemently, “There is always hope! We choose our destiny by our daily actions, and the wonderful thing about that knowledge is that if we don’t like our direction, we can change our actions.”

Young has posed this question to our readers: “Will you choose to improve your chances and your children’s chances of having a long-term marital relationship?”

Our answer is: There is always that hope, as long as we are willing to educate our youth and defend traditional and happy marriages.

As the mother of a 22-year-old, I am at that stage in my life where some styles are no longer attractive or appropriate. My two biggest fears are looking like my mother and looking like my daughter.

Mature and stylish women follow the main trends without losing their own style. As we move forward, we have to redefine what constitutes an updated look and put old-fashioned ideas aside, but there is a fine line between looking current and looking like a fashion victim. Everyone has a different idea of ​​scruffy. As with most things in my life, I find out what is right for me by eliminating what is wrong. These are on my “no-no” list:

• Wearing the pants too short, this is a killer look that I see often. The modern way of wearing pants is very long, almost brushing or brushing the floor.
• Wearing tops and blouses inside, I have a hard time resisting this one because I love my belts! Stretch-free tailored shirts and (layered) T-shirts look modern. If you choose to tuck in and wear a belt, don’t go the old-fashioned way: mom jeans that sit at the waist and taper at the ankle with a 1 ″ belt. Pants that rest 1 “below the waist are flattering for most of us and a wider belt (about 2”) will slim down.
• Dressing too much “to match” – this is hard for women of my generation because when we were growing up, the perfect outfit was a plaid skirt picked off a coat rack with matching sweaters and topped with matching Papagallo shoes and bag. It is not so easy anymore. Women who still subscribe to this method of dressing wear a head-to-toe designer “look”. BORED! It takes a bit of creativity, but you basically want to mix palettes and textures. Look at the color combinations in magazines and stores to keep up to date. You may see color combinations you never thought “go” together and look modern and stylish. Even the simplest outfit can look great by mixing textures; Think knotty wool with velvet or linen with silk. If this is very uncomfortable territory for you, wear suits, but update them with shoes and blouses.
• Wearing sleeveless tops and dresses without the benefit of regular exercise, when I attended my daughter’s high school graduation on a sweltering June day, I saw loads of flabby arms; I was thanking my Total Gym! I don’t mean to say you have to exercise, but if you’re not blessed with toned arms, wear short or long sleeves.
• Trying to look too neat, if your clothes are sophisticated and impeccable, tone down the hair and makeup, that’s a modern look. And in a similar vein …
• Wearing too much makeup – This is particularly important as we age. Choose a polished look in neutral colors for the day and bump up a bit with color or a heavier application at night.
• I wear very little makeup, I’m not going anywhere without mascara, blush, and lip gloss at the very least. Most days I add taupe eyeshadow and dark brown eyeliner and a little brow tamer. It takes 5 minutes and it makes a big difference!
• Looking totally unkempt, when I see women at the mall in sweatshirts or shorts and a baggy T-shirt, I wonder why they are shopping if this is how they leave the house. Even when you’re only wearing jeans, you can still look together by paying attention to your shoes and other accessories. Or, throw a jacket over just about anything and look instantly groomed.
• Buying a “special” dress for special occasions, of course there are some functions, for example, if you are the mother of the bride, when you have to buy a special dress. But for most semi-formal occasions it is more elegant to collect a wardrobe of elegant separate pieces: silk pants, blouses and skirts, velvet skirts and jackets, elegant cashmere sweaters, embellished jackets, and perhaps a mix-and-match tux. It also makes more sense if you don’t dress often because you can update your pieces one at a time.
• Old-fashioned glasses are a fashion accessory, and if you have to wear them, you can keep them up to date as well. It is worth the money when you consider the cost per use!
• Wearing too many “jewelry” -I don’t like jewelry, I prefer to have some pieces that reflect my personality and that I will love forever. Make one thing your focal point, if you wear too many pieces it is distracting
• Wear unflattering silhouettes: Certain clothes are not good for some body types. No one can escape this, even what we consider a model body cannot use all styles. Sometimes it is easier for a good friend to point out what is not working for you; it is very difficult to see yourself without prejudice. If you’re going to put the time and effort into wearing nice clothes, be a good editor and steer clear of what doesn’t work for you. This has nothing to do with size!
• Wearing “cheap” clothes: When I shop with my daughters at stores like H&M and Forever 21, I am tempted by the price tags, but cheap clothes look very bad on mature women. Again, I’d rather have 10 things that I love than 30 things that are regular.
• College Hair: If you still wear your hair like you did when you were 19 and over 40, it’s time for a change. And if you got the cut of the moment, the “Dorothy Hamill,” the “Rachel,” and you still have it, it’s time for a change. Trendy haircuts are just that, they are bound to be constantly updated.
• Ladies Suits and Little Earrings: I know that when women see this look with the “new” Chanel style suits and dresses they think of, this is a look that I can relate to. The thing is, this is a look for young women, it seems modern to them. As they say, if you used it the first time, think carefully about using it again. Simple, structured outfits with a lean toward the avant-garde look much more stylish for those over 40.

I find that when I follow these guidelines, my options are narrowed down, making it easy to create ageless and elegant outfits.