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Christine Kittinger loves boys Will and Joey, and husband Steve - a fantastic dad who can fix anything. She is Vice President of a human resources consulting firm, Assets Unlimited.

Popular opinion in the area of work-life balance seems to hold that the best way to excel at work and at home is to keep the two lives separate. Focus only on work at work, and only on the family at home. Do you really need two lives? Not me. One is quite enough, thank you!

My boys and my work are sources of great joy (more often than not) and fulfillment in my life. Over the years, I have found that incorporating my home and work lives have brought me greater happiness and success.

Enter my office, and you see photos of my boys gracing the bookcase, and their smiling faces pop into view whenever the screensaver kicks in on my computer. I know the work environment may sometimes dictate otherwise. Some offices truly are not family friendly, but I find that the charm of a toothless baby smile or my older son’s cocky grin will warm the heart of even my most “cool” clients. They look, they smile, a short conversation that is more personal than professional follows, and we are suddenly both more human and sometimes even feel an instant bond.

Thoughts of my boys also help lighten my mood on the toughest of workdays. One morning when my son Will was three years old, I was walking him to his preschool class. As we neared his classroom, he gave me a once over and asked why I was wearing my “fancy suit clothes.” I told him I had an important meeting. He looked up at me and asked, “are you going to dance there?” I laughed and said, “No, I don’t think so.” He got very serious, looked me straight in the eyes and said, “Well, you should, Mommy.” I told him he was right, we really should dance at the meeting. I managed to contain my laughter until he was inside the room. The vision of the Board of Directors dancing around the conference room practically had me rolling on the floor.

His comment kept me smiling through that meeting, and mentioning it to a few of my mom (and even dad) clients has actually resulted in a few quick waltz steps and one great “John Travolta Saturday Night Fever” moment.

Of course, you have to know your audience. In many cases, children create a common bond. But there are also those professionals who do adhere to the “work is work and home is home”, philosophy. I don’t start conversations with new clients by talking about my children. I usually follow their cues: family photos in their office, or Little League trophies on the desk. Sometimes the family talk comes out further down the line. Sometimes it never comes up at all. Yes, I do have clients who I work with regularly that don’t know much about my boys. If they’ve been with me for a while, they definitely know they exist, but I can sense that they want to focus on the job at hand, and I will not try to convert them.

Just as my boys bring joy to my work days, feeling free to talk about work at home, and even letting them see me work during the evening when necessary, is already having a great influence on the boys. I am not sure they understand exactly what a client is, but they must think a client is something good and nice. The boys regularly pick pretty flowers and leaves in the morning and ask me to give them to my clients. Sometimes I do!

A small sign near my desk says, “Mothers of little boys work from son up to son down.” True. And it can be great fun if you don’t divide your time, and truly live one, wonderful life.

As excerpted from “42 Rules ™ for Working Moms” Super Star Press, 2008.

Laura Lowell is the executive editor and author of “42 Rules for Working Moms.” She has gathered practical advice and information from working moms all over the world to share with others. She lives and works in Silicon Valley with her husband and two girls. http://www.42rules.com/working_moms/index

Are you thinking but not growing rich? Maybe it’s because that’s all you are doing. Having prosperous thoughts is great, but it takes more than just thinking about being rich, to be rich.

You can’t think about wealth one second and then wonder why it’s not showing up in your life the next. These are two contradictory thoughts that cancel each other out. And leaving prosperity “in your head” won’t work either. It takes the combination of three things to bring wealth in your life: thought, feeling, and action.

Yes, you’ve heard it all before. But it’s true! What most people don’t get is that they think they need to just think of wealth once or twice and that will work! NOT!

You need to develop a wealthy attitude; a way of thinking that is always associated with wealth, not just something that you do now and then.

Then you need to couple that thinking with some incredible feelings of wealth. Don’t feel wealthy? Do you have a roof over your head? Did you eat breakfast, are you eating lunch-is dinner a sure thing? Hello! There are a huge number of people in the world who can’t count on breakfast, lunch or dinner, in fact, they’d be lucky to get anything. Wealth is a relative thing and you need to find a way to feel wealthy, right now in order to experience it in your life. And no, doing it just once won’t work.

To feel wealthy, write down a list of all those things you are appreciative of in your life; your good health, the job you have, the roof over your head, the car you drive and (I don’t care if it’s old-most people in the world walk to where they want to go) the clothes on your back.

There are 6 billion people in the world we live in today. There are roughly 350 million Americans in the United States. There are 1 billion people in India alone and only one-third of them are considered in the upper class. So essentially, there are about 350 million people in India who are poor, living on the streets or in shanty towns. Try thinking about how many people in the world really have dry roofs over their head, food on their table, and money in their wallet. To the person living in India in a shanty-if you live in America, have a job, a house, a car-you’re wealthy! Now think of other places in the world where people don’t have it as nice as you do. You’re reading this on a computer. If you have a computer or can get to one-you’re rich in the eyes of the world’s poor!

So develop the feeling of wealth, and be appreciative every day for it. The last step is to take action on your wealth. I don’t mean go hog wild and spend, spend, spend. That’s really not smart. Try donating to someone else from a feeling place of wealth. Give that homeless person the money in your wallet. Clean out your closet and take the clothes to the thrift shop or donate them to the Salvation Army. Go online to Kiva and help someone else who’s trying to help themselves. Giving is an incredible way to feel wealthy and it passes the wealth on. But don’t do it if you’re just trying to get what you want from the Universe. That won’t work and the Universe will recognize your dishonesty. Give from your heart freely and watch what happens!

Seriously, get rid of the clutter in your life, make a change! Practice these steps for thirty days, thinking, feeling and sharing your wealth and you will attract more of it in your life.

It’s the way the universe works. When all of these three things are alignment, it has to work. It’s law!

Laurie J. Brenner writes to inspire you to your own greatest potential. http://www.LittleBookofBecoming.com http://www.Law-of-Attraction-Masters.com

There must be a reason why some people can just handle all the tasks that are thrown at them. They can handle the urgent items on their to do lists, the unexpected project changes that show up and even their personal commitments.

The reason these people can easily succeed in what they put their eyes on, get the important stuff done and enjoy time with their families is because they have mastered the art of time management.

Wouldn’t you like to know how they do it?

Would you like to know how you too can manage your time easily?

Here are just 3 of the most powerful techniques that these people use.

Some of the strategies may sound like “common sense” to you, but please don’t just ignore them, use them and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the effectiveness of these strategies - even the ones that sound like common sense.

Time Management Strategy 1:

Gaining Clarity

Most people stress out and can’t seem to figure out what they are doing, why they’re doing it and what the most important thing they need to do is. The reason for this painful overwhelm is the fact that most people don’t spend time gaining clarity.

Clarity is an important prerequisite for productivity. If you are not clear, you are not going to have a highly productive day.

Here’s why - when you are not clear, your mind is still running out trying to find solutions to all the other problems or issues that you are facing and so it’s easy for you to stress out.

The easiest way to boost productivity is to gain clarity.

Ask yourself

1. What are all the things that need to get done?

2. What are the goals I have?

3. What’s the priority level of each goal?

Time Management Strategy 2:

Worrying Less and Getting More done

Are you giving yourself the rest, relaxation and “vacation” time that you deserve?

If you are like most people today, you probably are not. And, here’s the problem with that – when you don’t relax, you are decreasing the level of your productivity. A tired mind is a terrible problem solver!

Have you ever tried solving an important problem at 11PM or even at 1AM after a very long and tiring day? Did it work? How long did it take?

You see, when you are not relaxed, even simple problems take long to get solved and end up wasting a lot more time than they deserve!

Give yourself frequent and short relaxing breaks during the work day and set aside some quality time to spend with your family doing what relaxes you so that you can prepare for another highly productive day at work!

Time Management Strategy 3:

Learning How to Prioritize

The biggest time management problem you and I face today is - not knowing what the most important thing to do at the current moment is.

And, it also kills your productivity. When you don’t know what the most important thing on your list is, your mind is still running around trying to figure out if there are some other potential landmines that need to be dealt with instead of what you’re working on right now.

How do you solve this problem?

You take the questions you asked in step 1 (gaining clarity) and then you look at all the tasks that need to get done and pick the one that’s most important and has the highest level of priority.

Is your to do list overwhelming you? Do you find yourself stuck with an endless mountain of tasks? Are you unable to make progress on things that are most important to you? Discover how you can easily turn that around and master your to do list. Join the best Free time management course and get 7 highly effective time management strategies for free.

It is important that you insist on results from your skin care products and you should not settle for anything less especially if you have been trying to soothe your dry skin for some time. Choose products carefully and seek the right advice if your symptoms are very severe.

There are very few people who are actually blessed to have skin that is considered to be normal. The rest of the population have to deal with oily skin and the outbreak of spots; or dry skin and the fact that they are ageing well before their years or there are those who have to deal with a combination of both dryness and oiliness.

But if you do have dry skin then there is some good news with regards to its treatment as there are no many natural alternatives that are available. If you are not sure if you have dry skin then all you need to do is to take a good look in the mirror. If your skin feels rough or if it looks cracked and rough on the surface of the skin then it is quite likely that you are suffering from oily skin.

The good news is that today, there are several types of natural treatments to choose from for your dry skin.

There are a number of reasons as to why a person develops dry skin and a common cause of the occurrence is the taking of certain prescribed medications, and you should always consult your doctor or to read the instructions to see what possible side effects may take place prior to usage.

It is a fact that dry skin takes place more in the winter than in the summer. The reason for this is because the skin is exposed to the biting cold winds, and then when indoors the skin is exposed to high temperatures. This sudden change in temperature can and does cause a lot of havoc for the skin, and dryness is a consequence.

If you are looking to clear your dry skin and to avoid premature ageing then you need to adopt a natural skin care routine. And the best place to start is with your diet and making sure that is focused on eating fresh fruits and vegetables and staying off deep fried foods. Water is essential for the hydration of the skin so you need to be drinking no less than two liters of water on a daily basis.

Rather than needing to go to the shops or to view the Internet, you can use some very inexpensive products to help remedy dry skin. One of them is coconut oil. When cold this actually does solidify, so you are going to need to heat in order to obtain an actual liquid oil, that you can apply to your skin.

Coconut oil is very effective at soothing dry skin and it is also great for providing relief for a dry itchy scalp. It is best if you can apply the oil to your body or scalp and then to leave this overnight, and wash off in the morning.

Massage the oil well into the skin in order to allow it to deeply penetrate the skin. The effect is very soothing and it will also help you to sleep better to.

However should it be the case that regardless of what you do your dry skin does not seem to be showing any signs of improvement, then a visit to your doctor will be advised in order to obtain a full and correct diagnosis.

Get more information about
caring for dryness. Spend time learning about
dry skin products and get some information on creams for dry skin also.

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is a communication model and a very effective, and sometimes controversial, approach to psychotherapy that was introduced by Richard Bandler (A mathematician) and John Grinder (A linguist) in the 1970’s. After its introduction, NLP soon became one of the most important psychotropic and counseling tools. Before further discussion, let’s analyze the 3 words (Neuro, Linguistic and Programming) to provide you with a glimpse of what NLP is about:

Neuro: refers to the human nervous system that includes the brain and the five senses controlled by the brain.

Linguistic: refers to the verbal and the non-verbal languages that we use to communicate with others and with ourselves (inner-conversation)

Programming: the process of structuring or engineering our linguistic or neurological systems, in the context of NLP, to achieve a particular result.

NLP is a quite complex concept but its fundamentals are very easy to absorb. There are four vital fundamentals to NLP which will be discussed later in this article. These four fundamentals can be considered as steps towards a more better you. NLP has been applied in a diverse range of fields including but not exclusive to:

Business

Education

Sports

Healthcare

Psychology

Sales & Marketing

Coaching etc.

People have been using NLP to remove many mental blocks that were acting as hurdles to their potential. To a large extent, what you achieve using NLP depends upon your frame of mind. However, in general, a person achieves the following common advantages from using NLP:

- Controlling the state of mind.

- Helping others to know and to get what they really want.

- Developing confidence and improving communication skills.

- Removing obstacles in your personal or professional life.

The fundamentals, or rather steps, of NLP are fairly simple in comparison with the overall concept of NLP. At the same time, these steps are quite powerful as they are designed after in-depth analysis of human mental patterns, various behavioral mechanisms, goal setting and achieving strategies. The human brain is the most complex machine on the face of the earth. We can never exploit it 100% but using NLP, we can at least make use of its potential power.

Step 1:

Knowing What You Want – This is the first step or fundamental of NLP; you must know exactly what you want. If you don’t have any clear picture of your goal, then it’s unlikely that you’ll achieve it. There’s a well know phrase “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up somehwere else” which says a lot about the lack of clearly defined goals. If you know what you want, you will be able to structure your plan before moving towards your goal.

Step 2:

Taking Action - When you know what you want, you can take the appropriate action. Put your all focus towards your actions that you take to achieve your goal. In the above example, this would be the eqivalent of identifying the destination on a map, deciding the best means of travel and then planning a suitable route.

Step 3:

Carefully monitoring the outcome of your actions - For example, you know your destination, you’ve planned your route and you’ve decided to travel on your motorcycle. But when travelling in an unfamliar part of the country you need to frequently check that you are following the correct route by comparing your location with your map. It’s important that you make sure that you are travelling in the right direction and you are on schedule to arrive at your destination on time.

Step 4:

Adjust what you are doing – It might surprise you to know that an airplane spends approximately 95% of its flight off its exact course. It the job of the pilot to make small adjustments in altitude and heading to correct for the prevailing weather conditions. Similarly, when we are striving to achieve a specific goal it’s important that we monitor progress and take corrective action from time to time to keep on track. This is called behavioral flexibility. We all need to be flexible enough to change what choices we make and actions we take to achieve our goals.

John Taylor is a Master NLP Practitioner and has worked with many individuals, teams and organisations to help them to make lasting and enduring changes. To learn how you too can use NLP to improve your business and personal life visit John’s Talk About NLP blog.

Business and Life Coaching is a relationship that focuses on change, the future and achieving goals both in business and life to help people live a more satisfying, successful and fulfilling life in all aspects of their lives.

How does Coaching work?

Business and Life coaching aid people to take charge of their lives by unlocking their natural ability to perform. A coach will help you to learn and increase awareness of the factors which determine your performance, increase your sense of self-responsibility and take ownership and control of events in your life.

A fresh viewpoint from an objective third party can be a critical part in identifying and developing areas of improvement in all areas of life as well as for meeting the company’s vision.

Through one-on-one or teams, coaching helps all individuals achieve their desired results through a combination of expanding awareness and building supportive environments that inspires growth. Coaching focuses on making changes in oneself in order for one to achieve their own goals & objectives. The aim of business coaching is to align corporate objectives with individual performer skills which then ensure that all employees are contributing better in the company’s quest to meet its objectives.

Who works with a Coach?

Business and Life coaching is a leading tool being used by both successful as well as unfulfilled people to create both inner peace and truly exceptional lives. As coaching sessions are uniquely tailored to individual needs, anyone can benefit from coaching no matter what stage they are at in their business or life. Business and Life coaching greatly facilitates an improvement in both confidence and motivation levels.

Clients can include people of all ages and backgrounds – from students to business owners, from mothers to managers and CEO’s – and their goals can be just as diverse. They all have one thing in common: a desire to get more out of their lives and be who they really want to be!

What are the benefits of Coaching?

• Clear path to goals

• Develop new empowering habits

• Increase motivation and confidence levels

• Understand what you are doing that is holding you back from reaching your potential

• Make dramatic improvements in your lifestyle

• Achieve results much more rapidly than you would on your own

• Close the gap between where you are now and where you’d like to be

• Be supported by a coach who is 100% committed to you!

So if you feel unhappy at the choices that are being presented to you, uncomfortable at making certain types of life changing decisions, unsatisfied of not unleashing your true potential, being consumed by your life or business, are confused at knowing how to resolve your issues and unaccomplished since you have everything but something just doesn’t feel quite right – get yourself a Business and/or Life Coach today!

We at Jina Life can help you transform your life to become a NEW YOU. We can make a difference it’s just for you to allow it to happen.

Jina Life always has a coach available for your particular needs. We are considered to have one of the top executive coaching strategies in Melbourne, Australia!

The “heat” or “hotness” of chili peppers and consequently pepper sprays is measured in Scoville Heat Units (SHU) or the Scoville scale, named after the American chemist Wilbur Scoville. The presence of the chemical capsaicin is responsible for this pleasant or unpleasant degree of heat, depending on if you are talking to a hot wings connoisseur or an assailant with pepper spray dripping from his face.

For all you culinary folks or chili eaters, a sweet bell pepper is rated 0, containing no capsaicin. A pimento or pepperoncini is only mildly spicier with a 100-500 SHU rating. Green pepper Tabasco sauce may yield 600-800, regular pepper Tabasco at 2500-5000, and super spicy habanero Tabasco sauce topping out at 7000-8000 SHU. Widely popular jalape?o peppers rate around 2500-8000. BAM! Pure cayenne pepper typically packs enough capsaicin to reach 30,000-50,000, compared to more exotic 50,000-80,000 Thai peppers. Speaking of more exotic peppers, a Naga Jolokia pepper from India ranges from 850,000 to 110,000 and a Dorset Naga may reach 1,600,000 SHU, or 1.6 million units of fiery mouth burning hotness!

Capsaicin in its purest form has a Scoville rating that ranges from 15,000,000 to 16,000,000. Yes, that reads 16 million! The standard grade pepper sprays in the US usually achieve 2 to 5 million SHUs.

Pepper sprays are inflammatory, unlike Mace which is an irritant. Inflammatory agents will cause immediate closure of the eyes and will induce coughing, choking and nausea. Temporary blindness due to dilation of the eyes and the mucous membranes will swell up, effectively preventing all but life support breathing.

The effects may last from 20-45 minutes depending on the pepper spray’s strength. Popular pepper spray products, such as Pepper Shot are rated at 10% strength, boasting a SHU of 2 million. The Wildfire 18% contains enough Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) to achieve nearly 3 million Scoville Heat Units of stopping power. Bear strength Guard Alaska requires a higher concentration for those that venture into the woods, with at least a 20% concentration of capsicum firepower.

There are even triple action self defense sprays incorporating OC pepper, CN tear gas, and a UV marking dye. This potent combination sends your assailant into an uncontrollable fit of coughing and choking while his eyes are slammed shut. The CS tear gas causes a profuse tearing to the already affected eyes, as well as an intense burning sensation to the face. The UV marking dye marks the assailant and may assist in identification once apprehended.

Conveniently, many pepper sprays come on key chains. This is a good idea since most people will usually have their keys with them. But don’t forget about the times you don’t have your keys. The small investment in additional pepper spray may save your life or the life of a loved one! Then you will also always have your pepper spray within easy reach. You can also find covert pepper spray products such as pepper batons (kubotans), pepper pagers, lipstick spray, “Stunning Ring”, and hand weight Hot Walkers for walking and jogging. Pepper spray is also sold in gel stream formulas instead of liquid sprays. Gels have the advantages of longer distance, stronger pepper, very sticky on the target’s face and less contaminating overspray.

However, the best, strongest, and farthest ranged pepper spray in the world will amount to the SHU rating of that bell pepper if you fail to do three simple things: purchase some pepper spray, carry your pepper spray wherever you go and practice using it. This means buying extra pepper spray and actually “waste” it by discharging practice sprays to gauge the range of your product and improve your spraying accuracy. If you are going to under shoot or hit the wall next to an attacker, you mind as well pack your pockets with pimentos. Of course, with the affordability of peppered self defense products and the peace of mind you gain by being prepared, if you do ever find yourself in a pepper, err pickle… you can hardly consider it a waste.

It would be nice to believe that nothing will happen to you, but the reality of it is that an ounce of protection could be worth more than a pound of cure. What is Worth Protection to you? Your belongings? Your family? Your personal well-being?

Don’t be afraid to spice up your self defense, stay safe and be prepared!

For a full line of stun guns, pepper sprays, Tasers, home protection, Mace, child safety, personal alarms, voice changers, safety lights, diversion safes, hand held metal detectors, instructional fighting DVDs and much more, Check out Worth Protection Security.

Why is that you have spots and I don’t? Good question isn’t especially if two people are of the same age, same ethnic background, same colour hair and so on. In fact there is nothing really different other than the fact that the people are different. So why does one have spots and the other does not?

Spots whether you like them or not can happen at time, and it really does not matter if you are a teenager, an adult or even a little baby, spots can and do strike at any time. There are some common factors as to why spots do take place such as genes, age and if your parents had spots then it is quite likely that you will also have spots too. Spots are not just for the face, but can appear anywhere on the body such as the back, shoulders and also the chest.

So just what can be causing people to develop spots in the first place? There is the possibility that you could be highly stressed and this is said to have some contribution of spots developing. It is a good idea to be able to take your focus away from the fact that you have spots and not to focus on something else.

There are various treatments that you can practice that you can help combat your spots and one of them is to just get away. Take a short weekend away and take your mind off everything especially your spots. Sometimes it is just a case to see a different place or a different person in order to make you have a different perspective on matters.

You should not be overly stressed by the fact that you have spots, because all it is, is your body telling you that there is some kind of imbalance within the body. Provided you take the appropriate care to look after yourself internally then your spots will more than certain to take care of themselves.

It is also the possibility that you are actually dehydrated and if your body is not able to flush out toxins then your body will cause the development of spots to appear. It is essential that you are drinking lots of water in order to make sure that you body is getting rid of excess toxins.

As well as drinking water make sure that your eating a well balanced diet that is not consisting of junk foods and excess chocolates. Avoid excess amounts of tea, coffee and also alcohol, and other drinks that are so called stimulants.

The biggest issue that you need to be aware is not to squeeze your spots, even if they seem to be ready to squeeze. This can cause further damage to the skin and it can cause a permanent scar to appear on the skin. But this is something that people never not do, and are quite happy to squeeze away at their spots, only to regret the decision later on when then it is too late or too difficult to then heal the skin to its normal state.

Get more information about acne skin care. Spend time learning about getting rid of spots and get some information on spots on the skin also.

It seems that more and more reality themed shows are being added to TV, with each one having it’s own special premise. However, I have noticed that for many “drama” is the key ingredient. In fact one show has it’s complicated as part of the title.

When cruising through the TV lineup, I find that if there is a lot of drama and chaos going on in a particular program my energy starts to shift, and I begin to feel “icky”. Thank goodness for the mute button. It enables me to “surf” or preview the lineup and blocks the “vibes” of audio broadcasts not to my liking.

My life is filled with joy; and it is simple and easy. The way I keep it that way is to honor that which adds a positive spark and encourages me, and to walk on by anything that stimulates turmoil and chaos.

That is not to say I block the latter; I just choose not to participate. I have discovered since I have integrated this approach, circumstances that tend to encourage turmoil and the like seem to ignore or past right by me; really! For example I know there is “tittle-tattling” and the like going on among people that I am in contact with each day. Yet I am not privy to the majority of it. I have never sat down with anyone and told them not to nay say around me. They just don’t seem to do it!

When a conversation or situation I encounter tends to shift my characteristically vibrant energy pattern I know there are a variety of options available as to what I can do. Here are a few techniques I have used. The first is a no brainer. One can always stay put and participate in what is going on. That may not be the choice of preference, so one can also stay and bring in a new/different approach to view the situation (or subject being discussed), thereby shifting the energy. Want a few more? If one is in a conversation one can change the subject all together, or even excuse oneself from the group. These techniques are no longer solutions I have to think about or ponder, they now automatically present as options that I make use of on a regular basis.

For me making a choice is like a light switch. I know I am in control of my switch at all times. What I do with it is totally up to me. Do I turn it off or leave it on? There is no right or wrong choice. It is simply a preference!

A friend of mine has described drama and turmoil as being “sticky”. It can perhaps even seem to be magnetic and draw one into its web. It used to effect me that way. However, after living a peaceful, easy and joyous life for awhile I have found it (drama/turmoil) to be a repellant! I can, without hesitation, say no but no thanks and keep on walking!

They label it reality TV. Yet whose reality are they talking about? It sure is not part of mine! Well, I guess I have my own special reality going on. Ah, life is good! And it keeps getting better..

Be sure to visit Mary Kay’s website http://www.sfgtd.com and sign up for her *FREE* Monthly Newsletter, which is filled with inspirational, motivational and helpful information. Mary Kay is available for private consultations and speaking engagements. Call 702-239-5451 or e-mail marykay@sfgtd.com.

We think it’s extremely odd, weird, annoying, ridiculous and outrageous that some chunky girls actually say, “I’d rather die than be fat.” We know they do. We’ve heard them say it and we’re positive we’ve read it somewhere but we don’t want to have to look it up and prove it. That would take extra typing and that’s exercise. Who needs skinny digits?

We would like to point out how self-centered, selfish, stupid, and damn dumb that statement is. The world is full of people dying who don’t want to - of war, pestilence, natural disaster, disease, and starvation to name a few. Yet we have women in this very wealthy [for now] country who whine that they’d rather die because they don’t look like a Hollywood starlet.

The first thing to know is that Hollywood starlets don’t even look like Hollywood starlets. Have you ever seen one of these doggy babes before the hair and make up and personal trainer and diet pills? They looked just like us! Like real women with real hips who might even have real lives. Laura started her career making films in Hollywood but because she didn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps on the path of anorexia, she couldn’t compete with the pencil thin babes that were all the rage in those days.

But hip-hip hooray, the times they are achanging. Now we have Ugly Betty – who isn’t really ugly and not in our opinion fat … but compared to Nicole Kidman she’s a moose. But don’t we all love her anyway? We have tons of gorgeous B-FABs (Beautiful Fat Ass Babes) to look up to now - the gorgeous Jennifer Hudson, Latifah the Queen and bootilicious Kim Kardashian to name just a few. Why are women still berating themselves when we finally have role models that we can respect and emulate?

We’re tired of being lectured by skinny-ass doctors, friends, relatives, neighbors, cashiers, train conductors and strangers in line behind us at the Duane Reade about how we are risking our health because of our size and how shameful that is. These people are often criticizing us while smoking, on their way to a bar for a martini lunch or simply breathing the air in a city. Why, we wonder out loud caustically, do they think they belong on their high horses? Oh yes. Some of them are also doing horse. The heroin. The smack. Even that is better than being fat according to this narrow minded, biased, thin-obsessed, mental-health-sucking pop culture. Not that we’re annoyed (yes we are.)

There’s lots worse things than being overweight. They include being mean to others, being arrogant and shallow and concerned with nothing except what we were born looking like. We say it’s time to change that. We’d rather live and be happy than spend our time obsessing about thin-ness. Laura is a size 14 and Janette is a size medium, large, extra large, 16, 18 or 20 depending on the outfit. Surely there is more to judge us by than that. Laura and Janette weigh about the same but Laura is 5′11″ and Janette fits neatly underneath a table (5′3″). We have lives, boyfriends, businesses and a mission. That mission is to carry a message of self acceptance for B-FABs (Beautiful Fat Ass Babes) everywhere that we can use to beat those mean skinny babes over the head with.

We are fine as we are. And you, the reader who isn’t a stick figure … you’re fine too.

Don’t waste time hating yourself. Self-loathing is more fattening than fudge. Hating yourself will just make it all worse. Instead, get a cookie, put your feet up and spend some time learning to love yourself as you are and leave the dying alone. Hrmmph. It’s time someone took a stand and said this!

Laura Banks and Janette Barber are the bestselling authors of Embracing Your Big Fat Ass (Atria). They write about positive body-image, weight-acceptance, self-esteem with humor. It’s time to love your BFA (Big Fat Ass). Janette is a 6 time Emmy-Award winning producer/writer and Laura is a columnist at Tarot.com. Embracing Your Big Fat Ass.