The Book is Here

I am so glad to finally be able to see the cover and get my eager little hands on a copy. My inner child is at peace now that the dream of a life-long cat lover has been fulfilled.

Thanks to Woman's Day and all the editors and writers that contributed. It was a purrfect project from head to tail.

Meow.

Buy it here: Amazon

There's also an e-book form here: Kindle

How to Stop Split Ends in Their Tracks

Flummoxed by split ends? Start by understanding everything you need to know about how to stop split ends right in their tracks. Hair is a porous shaft of cuticles that are supposed to lay flat like roofing tiles. If you’ve ever seen the roof of a house after a storm, you’ll know why it is really important to learn how to stop split ends before they start. Check out the suggestions below for a few great ideas about how to stop split ends before your hair do turns into a hair don’t.

Head-Off Damage

Restrain from heat and other hair treatments. In reality very little heat is needed to dry and style hair. If you can, try to forgo the use of blow dryers, flat irons, curling irons and hot rollers. The immediate benefit of heat styling is gratifying but burning your hair into submission will have you looking like Dorothy after the tornado.

Color, perming, straightening and bleaching are dreadfully harmful to the cuticle layer of hair. These processes should be limited to one at a time and on an as needed basis. Only color or bleach the root of hair for touch ups. Never color and recolor the very ends of your hair. Not only is it not necessary it is brutal to your hair. Try to separate multiple hair treatments by at least six weeks – better yet – skip them, if you can.

Pour On the TLC

Stop split ends by styling your hair with care. Gentle handling is the secret to beautiful healthy hair. The less you fuss with your hair the less chance for split ends to develop.

Comb your hair gently with a wide toothed comb and never brush hair when it is wet. Avoid split ends by combing the ends of hair gently. Never pull or rip the comb through a snag. Tease the knot out with a rubber tipped hair pick or comb. Use soft scrunchies and gentle hair clips. Never use rubber elastics to style your hair, especially on the ends.

Coconut oil and olive oil treatments are wonderful for deep conditioning hair repair. Use these oils and deep conditioners as a part of regular preventative maintenance before any damage is evident.

Wear your hair in styles that protect the ends of hair. Try wearing hair up in loose bun. Experiment with your hair and come up with cute, soft up-dos. Tucking the hair in a bun or twist prevents the wear and tear associated with split ends.

Regular Maintenance Is Key

Ask your stylist about how to stop split ends with a good haircut. Most professionals agree that regular trims, no further than eight weeks apart, removes the split ends before they work their way up the hair shaft. Once the hair has been damaged this far, no matter what you’ve learned about how to stop split ends, it will be too late.

The Best Puffy Eye Treatments Ever!

You wake up and put on your best face, but your eyes tell the truth. Last night’s movie marathon is really taking its toll. Puffy eyes may be a small price to pay for checking off the last Hitchcock on your list, but you don’t have to ante up forever. Pack your bags and get on the road to the best puffy eye treatment ever!

The Potato Eyes Have It

Did you know that the tasty tuber does wonders for decreasing puffiness of the eye? Use chilled potato slices instead of cucumbers for the best puffy eye treatment you’ll ever eat. Alternatively, blend or process potato slices to create a smashing mash. Use about one teaspoon on each eye. Put your feet up and chill for 10 minutes.

Keep the Bag to Reduce the Bags

After you enjoy a relaxing cup of chamomile - or any type of tea – save the used bag in a Ziplock and keep refrigerated. Thanks to the natural astringent properties of tea’s tannins, the handy, moist and cool compress will diminish swollen eyes and repurposing is a fantastic way to be eco-friendly.

Silver Spoons

You may not have been born with a silver spoon in your mouth, but a spoon on the eye is accessible to everyone. Cold spoons placed over the eyes for 5 minutes or so, can provide plenty of comforting relief. Keep a few spoons in the refrigerator and swap them out as needed. Don’t freeze spoons for this purpose, as a spoon stuck to your eyelid is not cute at all.

Preclude Puff Ups

If your goal is eyes worth an ogle, the best puffy eye treatment ever is prevention. Drink plenty of water – around eight glasses daily. Get adequate rest every night. Everybody’s needs are different but 8 hours on average is a good goal. Limit alcohol. Drinking alcohol is linked to puffiness overall and premature aging. Keep salt intake to a minimum. The recommended daily intake of sodium is 2300 milligrams or less. Too much salt can lead to water retention and it can be hidden in the strangest places – anything canned or processed - so read labels carefully.

Most Popular H2O Skin Products

Lively scents, exciting colors and enchanting results are hallmarks of the ragingly successful H2O brand. The deep-sea botanicals and extensive product research put H2O+ in a class by itself. You don’t have to dive deep to discover the most popular H2O skin products just keep reading.

Begin at the Beguine

The beginning is the best place to start when looking for the most popular H2O skin products. H2O’s first and still best loved product is Face Oasis Hydrating Treatment. It is part of the flagship Oasis line of products and it really lives up to its name. The light as sea foam gel formula packs in oceans of nutrients with ingredients like sea salt and seaweed. Use Face Oasis as a mask. Apply a generous amount of the product to the face avoiding the eye area. Let the mask sit on the skin for 5 minutes or longer. Gently wipe away any excess product that has not absorbed. If your skin is oily, a small amount massaged into freshly cleansed skin is all you will need as a moisturizer.

Eye Cream or Eye Dream?

Eye Oasis Moisture Replenishment Treatment floods your delicate eye area with gentle nourishing vitamins and anti-aging sea based botanicals. This anti-aging eye treatment encourages cell renewal, diminishes fine lines and enhances skin’s texture. Using a tapping motion with your fingers, apply a small amount to the surrounding eye area. Do not rub into the delicate skin around the eye as that may cause permanent sagging or tissue damage. Use morning and night for salient results and oceanic improvement.

Take It Off Every Night

After a busy day, the easiest and most thorough way to remove eye makeup is with another of the most popular H2O skin products, Dual Action Eye Make-up Remover. The sea-derived botanicals provide nourishing skin care while the powerful solvents remove even the most stubborn waterproof eyeliner and mascara. Dual Action Eye Make-up Remover is great for any skin type and gentle enough for daily use. As with many eye make-up removers, shake well before using. Saturate a cotton ball or pad with the product and gently swipe across the eye area. Use just enough pressure to be effective without pulling on the skin in this vulnerable area. You can even take lipstick or other make-up off with the Dual Action Eye Make-up Remover. It leaves the skin feeling cleansed, refreshed and never oily or greasy.

Assessing the design and architecture of art galleries

A true critique of architecture follows specific criterion. The valuation will be based on the intent of the architect, the as-built structure's relationship to the plans, flow of the design, and an answer to the question: Is the space fit for purpose? Art galleries pose specific challenges for the designer. A discussion of some of those unique concerns follows below.

Site usage

The building's relationship to its location is crucial. Good architecture will speak to this association. For example: a cramped space within a row of brownstones provides a certain feeling and set of challenges that need to be addressed differently than a hilly parcel of eleven bucolic acres.

Display space

The space in an art gallery should allow for unique or interesting display of artwork. Plenty of art galleries must rely upon the mediocre and uninspiring method of repetitive rectangles, hung one after the next. This blasé jumble might be economical, but it is not the best practice. The art itself should be considered before the space is even planned.

Room to view

Galleries require a significant space allowance for art viewing. It is not enough to merely show the work. The space must be ample and appropriate for appreciating the art the way the artist intended it to be viewed. Room to move around a sculpture or step back from a painting is a necessity in good gallery design. The flow should be organic and natural feeling.
Preservation of the artwork
Temperature and humidity controls are a unique concern in gallery design. It is not enough to maintain a comfortable ambient temperature for visitors. A tight set of controls must be in place in order to care for the artworks and support their physical integrity. Light must also be mitigated to prevent any great changes to the environment and the artwork.

Good flow

Commendable art gallery design will estimate the amount of traffic and form or flow that the space allows. The proper, comfortable management of the circulation of people will influence the experience of the viewer. Considerations to the manner in which the building is situated in space, connection to the rising and setting sun, site topography, ambient light as well as artificial light will result in good design that takes the viewer on a journey. A design should gently guide traffic in and around the sights with surprise and heightened energy as the net result. It should feel right to the visitor. Upon leaving the gallery the viewer should be inspired.

While a tremendous responsibility is placed on the architect in any design challenge, the art gallery remains one of the most poignant - design within a design, art within a sculpture. One must reinforce or enhance the other without detraction.

Cats and litter box training tips

Few trappings of kitten ownership are more important than the litter box. As adorable as the wee one is, one drop of wee on the carpet and the charm is broken. Before you do anything else besides pet and love that new kitten, get a litter box, litter and a scoop. Training your kitten to do her business in the box should be consistent and constant, but it will not be hard.

Natural Instinct

Thanks to the mother cat's excellent natural instincts, your kitten already comes with a bit of experience in the area of litter training. If the litter box is relatively close to the sleeping and eating areas a cat will naturally eliminate waste in the proper place. The old saying: "Don't poop where you eat," remains true to this day.

For kitten training, do get a small sized box that is easy for the new kitten to manage. The safest litter filler is the simplest litter. A natural clay litter has the absorbency you want with the texture that your kitten will find irresistible. Fill the box to a shallow level (about 1 to 2 inches is enough) as to be inviting and not overwhelming. As most kittens transition best in a small area of the new environment, the litter box should be available within that space, visible to you and preferably away from potted plants to avoid any unnecessary kitty confusion.

Introductions Please

Immediately after the initial welcome home, introduce your kitten to the box. Gently place the kitten in the litter box. Scratch around a little (while it is still sparkling clean) and the the kitten will get the idea naturally. Help her out by helping her to scratch with her own paws, as well. Repeat the process intermittently, often and as soon as you observe the kitten showing any signs that she must go potty. If any accidents happen or start to happen, don’t get upset, and relocate the kitty to the box, directly.

Keep it Clean!

Keep the litter box scrupulously clean. Scoop daily and wash clean at least weekly. Kittens and cats are finicky, naturally tidy and quite sensitive to smell. If a box is too dirty for her taste, she may find a “nicer” spot to go, like your prized ficus. Your advance work at the start will pay off for a lifetime. Warning: Once a kitten has had an accident anywhere in your home besides the proper location, completely clean that area with a good quality pet waste cleaner. There are many excellent products you can find at the pet store or on the internet. Find one that removes any trace of the bacteria and stain as cats tend to go where they scent and sense that they have gone before.

In the End

Patience, watchfulness and consistency will pay off. Most kittens train immediately - a trait any parent can admire. Your kitten needs your gentle guidance in every area of her growth so keep cool and have faith in her natural instincts.

Tips for baking potatoes

Maybe it’s just the Irish in me, but there really is nothing like a properly baked potato. Nothing. Crispy, golden, earthy, minerally goodness on the outside. Delicately fluffy, rich and steamy on the inside. Whatever you decide to top your baked potato with - butter, sour cream, cheese, chili - make certain you’ve done your spud right by baking it the very best way.

Begin

Do not microwave your potato. All microwave oven manufacturers will tell you that nuking a potato is perfectly fine. Do not be seduced by them. The soggy product of 6 minutes on high is nothing close to fine. It is pure sacrilege in my book.

This noble tuber needs slower dry nurturing in a hot but not too hot oven. Gas or electric will do nicely. Convection cooking is completely unnecessary but not a deal breaker.

Do select firm, fresh and good looking produce. What you get out of your efforts will only be as good as what you put into them. I like an Idaho Russet. If it’s good enough for McDonald’s, it is good enough for me.

Next, be certain to scrub the potato free of debris and dirt under clean running water. I also pick out any white “eyes” that might have developed during the transport from farm to my home. Avoid green potatoes at all costs. The green part is actually chlorophyll indicating the presence of a natural toxin called solanine. It is the plant’s natural defense against insects, disease and predators. It develops when the potato is subjected to light or extremes in temperature, which can happen with improper transport. If ingested in large amounts it can cause headaches and stomach illness, even paralysis of the central nervous system. Certainly, solanine is not part of the perfect baked potato, so leave it out.

Prepare

Once clean and dry, prick the potato all over with the tines of a fork or tip of a sharp knife. This is necessary to prevent the buildup of steam in the potato as it cooks in the hot oven. If you avoid this step, prepare yourself to scrape the inside of your oven clean after the inevitable explosion.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. While you wait for the oven to come to temperature, rub olive oil all over the surface of the potato. Next, lightly sprinkle kosher or other coarse salt on the oiled potato skin. Cracked black pepper is an optional step that I don’tmiss.

Once the oven is at temperature, place the potatoes directly on the baking rack of your oven. Place a low sided cookie sheet underneath the potatoes on the rack below to catch any spills or drips that are bound to happen during cooking. You do not want smokey smelly drops of potato burning to carbon on the bottom of your oven when you’re trying to enjoy your fine dinner.

Bake

Cooking time is about an hour for an average sized potato. Larger spuds will require as much as an hour and a half, so use common sense and allow enough time for proper cooking. Fork tender is the bench mark to follow. Wait 3 to 5 minutes before opening the potato. They will still be plenty hot enough to eat and this step allows the interior moisture to evenly distribute while evenly cooling.

Enjoy!

Finally, use a fork to open your spud. Do not use a knife to slice, crush and mush the potato flesh. Fork a series of dotted lines down the middle of the potato. Don’t be shy, let the fork pierce the skin at least an inch deep. Next, squeeze or press down at the ends of the potato and “bloom” the inner flesh outward. This process may seem alien but it truly ensures the lightest fluffiest result. Promise.