Renewed Prospective

Have a blessed Sunday. Today is the day the Lord has made and all the beauty in it is by his divine design.

This morning I felt like I needed to get my walk before anything else. I finished with a little dancercise in the garage which I must say felt pretty good!

A Model You Shows What A Little Love Can Do

Thanks so much for spreading joy and love across the miles.

The Lewis girls, Kayla, Katrina, Kimberly, expressed tremendous joy and gratitude for the support you showed their family.

The three youngest girls got together last Sunday after spending the morning planning what they would buy, then it was off to Target. The oldest girl Kadija, didn't make this first excursion as she has begun working to earn some extra income.

They were all smiles as they spoke about how their prayers had been answered. Their mom on the other hand was moved to tears, because while for most school girls their age, shopping for books, a pair of shoes, a crop top and bootleg jeans this year was a given, for the Lewis girls, it was a blessing.

Thank you all for being a blessing!

Love,

Nina Shay and Patricia Sadler

A Model You

HOW WE DID WITH OUR LEWIS FAMILY PROJECT

Dear Family and Friends:

It is with pleasure that I bring you this update. Together we achieved something truly remarkable. You responded to my request for help and we raised $1,000.00 in merchandise gift cards, as well as two full boxes of school supplies for the Lewis family girls.

Your donations have been received by the family and they have scheduled a shopping excursion to take place this weekend. My hope is to capture photographs to show you the excitement, I heard in their voices after they received these gifts.

We are truly blessed because of your generosity-you, because you gave of yourself, me-because I followed God's spirit in my heart, and the Lewis family, because they now know there are people out there who really care about their well being and the advancement of their futures.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart. My mom is assisting me with seeing to it the girls receive and make good use of your donations, and she would like to thank you as well.

We will be forwarding individual acknowledgements to each and every one of you. Please feel free to contact me if you have any comments or questions. In the meantime, keep letting your light shine!!!

Love,

Nina Shay

LIFE AND STYLE TODAY
Readers Health Note

For those who like to drink cold water, this note is applicable to you. It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion. Once this 'sludge' reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine . Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.

Shared by Belinda Grimes

Life and Style Today
Still Haven’t Gotten Your Mother’s Day Gift?

If procrastination was a crime, some of us would be sentenced to one or more life terms. I declare that old adage "a woman's work is never done" is soooo true! Hey, I know a lot of you were looking for me to give you the update on some fabulous must-have gift ideas for Mother’s Day but between the "P" factor and the fact that girlfriend (moi, of course) doesn't have a maid, a nanny or a stand-in for my jobs, I just couldn't find time to get all my shopping done.

If you’re anything like me, in which case I’ll pray for you, you still haven’t picked up your Mother’s gift yet. But have no fear, I've got your last minute "Latest and Greatest Mother's Day Gift Ideas" right here.

What’s Hot For Mom Right Now!

Nearly Nude Undergarments

Note: These beauties are the latest body essentials for those summer dresses or tops that Mom can’t wear a bra with but still needs that extra lift and support for. She'll love that they’re specifically designed with low fronts for even the lowest cut top and they are engineered to pull her in, lift her up and upgrade her cleavage like never before.

FYI: Fits up to size 16DD and it's made of 93% polyamide, 7% elastine.

Where To Find It:

Nearly Nude http://www.nearlynude.com/

West: Shop Intuition http://www.shopintuition.com/

Price Range: $54.00

Kitson Sneaker Shoes
Note: Kitson sneaker shoes are the ultimate in style. Not only will Mom find them comfortable to wear out for a day of shopping, running errands on the weekend or to work on Casual Fridays but she'll love the fact that they're fun, oh so fashionable and they’ve never met a khakis, jean, or capris they didn’t like.

Where To Find It:

Kitson http://www.kitson.com/

Everywhere: Loehmann’s http://www.loehmanns.com/

Price Range: $35.00-$60.00

*I just got a great camouflage pair at Loehmann's for $16.99

Vixen Swimsuit Cover-Ups

Note: Just what Mom's swimsuit ordered, a good cover-up that does the job and won’t scream "I'm trying to hide something I don’t want you to see". Vixen has a style for everybody and a multitude of colors, designs and lengths for all her cover-up needs.

Where To Find It:

Vixen Swimwear

http://www.vixenswimwear.com/

Everywhere: Saks Fifth Avenue http://www.saks.com/

East: Water Water Everywhere

http://www.waterwatereverywhere.com/
Price Range: $150.00

The Wear with Anything Blouse

Note: This is the perfect summer blouse to coordinate with anything in Mom's closet. If she has a pink, blue, grey, white, red, fuchsia, blue denim or green pair of pants or skirt, this is the top for it. The printed silk fabric in multi vibrant floral patterns with v-neck, shirring, racer style back, & full lining is that one piece every woman needs.

FYI: It’s 26 inches long and 100% Silk Charmeuse

Where to Find It:

West: Shop Intuition http://www.shopintuition.com/

Price Range: $95.00

Other Places To Find These and Other Mother’s Day Gifts
nordstrom.com
neimanmarcus.com
sylverwear.com
pink.com

saks.com

Health and Money Talk

A Little Food for Thought

A short time ago, Rolonda Watts and I were talking about the latest fashions on her radio show "The Ro Show" and the darnedest styles that people like to revive, although they should be dead and buried, never to be seen again.

For a moment during our conversation we reflected on shopping at the dollar store. I happened to be telling Ro about a new trend in bags called the "Market Bags". They're the ones that come in the red, white and blue stripe, usually with two handles and you could fit anything in the world in them and they would actually hold up (I think the names for them are Rice Bags). I joked that if you didn't want to pay $100 for the latest versions, you could save $99 dollars by picking up one at the dollar stores. That was not the fashionable option though.

Anyway, she and I got a good laugh out of that. We've all browsed through our local Family Tree, 99 Cent Depot, Family Dollar or Dollar Store, picking up little things for school parties, back to school items and kitchen supplies. Some have even admitted to buying their office party $10-grab-bag gifts there-lol.

Hey in this day and in the "you know who" age of high food, gas and health care prices, it would be great to save or in this case spend a buck or two on some much needed items, but it's important to remember along with those Big Discounts sometimes come Big Risks.

The fact is, some of these bargains end up not being smart shopping at all. Instead they have been found to be down right dangerous and ultimately very costly.

Unfortunately, most problem-prone dollar stores products are those that offer the biggest discounts. Take these five items for example:

1) Batteries

Most dollars store battery brands are made with carbon zinc-a far more inferior option than the ones you buy at the hardware or drugstore according to Tom Merritt, Executive Editor for electronics review site CNET2. Chances are you'll go through a pack of the dollar stores bought brand much sooner, negating your initial savings. Instead spend the money to purchase the alkaline batteries with less shelf time from another store.

2) Toothpaste

You might not give a second thought to what's in the tubes of toothpaste you're buying, but you should. Last year, the Food and Drug Administration warned consumers that many of the imported toothpastes typically found at dollar stores and other discount outlets contained the poisonous chemical diethylene glycol (DEG), most commonly used as a thickener in antifreeze (Ugh!). To date the agency has identified more than 20 hazardous brands, including several counterfeit tubes that look like Colgate.

Bye the way, Rita Chappelle, a spokeswoman for the FDA reports; repeated brushing with DEG can cause liver and kidney damage and other gastrointenstinal problems.

3) Electrical Products

Holiday lights and extension cords should never be purchased from dollar stores. The reason is: Often times in these cheaper made products the wiring is undersized (meaning more current goes through than the device can handle), according to Consumer Reports. They may have a substandard insulation. At best, they make for faulty products that short out very easily. At their worst, the cords can overheat, melt, shock you or even start a fire.

4) Kid's Jewelry

The problem with them is very similar to those experienced by many toy makers last year who were being questioned, even sued over sales of products which were found to contain lead.

Many of the dollar stores toys are believed to be unsafe. Especially items that contain metal. Basically, none of these products can be guaranteed safe. So although the necklaces and rings and other items, are easy and cheap for Halloween or birthday gift bags, they should be avoided for the safety of your child.

5) Vitamins

These vitamins can be dicey, says FDA spokesperson, Tod Marks, because the FDA considers multivitamins a dietary supplement, there's significantly less oversight when it comes to their composition and effects on the body than there is for prescription medications. In a 2004 analysis, Consumer Reports found that half of the dollar stores vitamin brands it studied contained less of the nutrients claimed on the label, or failed to dissolve properly when ingested. Funny enough there were no such findings in similar investigations of major brand names according to Marks.

While all of the claims mentioned were not made by myself, nor do I have any evidence to support them, it seems like common sense-101 to me and who knows better than us to follow our intuition.

Be Healthy and Blessed.

Nina