Why do I not keep my mouth shut?

Beijing Olympics cheating row as British swimmers claim silver and bronze

Britain's silver and bronze medal winners in the marathon swimming event have angrily accused a German competitor of dirty tricks.

From Todays DT

um.....as u no im new here n im jus try n 2 make some new friends!!!!!!!!!yet 1 gurl i tryed 2 add/talk 2 ,gave me the silent treatment.like wat the?well u no the rest.im like idk u so wats the deal? anyway my point is im cool wit every 1 beside her i guess.look n 4 some more friends jus add me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

king:"welcome evrybody to this eddition of extreme."  jennety:"we got action and more action tonight."  king:"yes.from the boss we got a memo saying that there will be a fired match.nunzio vs funoki."  jennety:"and sraight from crative we got a battle for the ages.sabu vs rhino vs brock lesnar in a baerbed wire ropes match." king:"and also a battle  that noone will forget.sammoa joe vs cm punk vs raven in a elimanation sumbinson match."  jennety:" lets get our fired match started.

it had evry thing. ground game,high flying,submissions,near falls and most immportantly someone winning.it was funwho lost after a nunzio goes flying(450 flip)and a 123.

jennety:"well funaki gets sent paking"  king:" too bad for him but we have to take a brake.after we have or elimanation submission match

we see pictures of wars summer slam.of all the matches.and the end. comircal:"wars summerslam,order the replay now at the tfc website.also checkout full results.tfc where fights began." we hear the chairmen evil laguh

jennety:"well welcome back.the war summer slam was great.dont forget to check out the xtreme sumer slam."  king:"it will be good. but now we have our sumbmison elimanation match

it was great to the end.submision after submision these guys were fighting tooth and nail.the first ellimanation ocured after 6 minutts.samoa joe taped to the  andaconda vice. after elimmanation samoa joe atacked evry one untill brock lesnar came out and creamed him with a steel chair. they fought all the way  back stage and the match countinued. it ended at the 17 minute mark. when raven taped to the andaconda vice.

king:" great match." jennety:" yes now are featured match just started.

bloddy.thats the only word for it .sbu won and got hurt the most had to have helped back.brock was okay but had to limp so did rhino.they all shock hands and left it all in the ring.

king:"great match and graet show.for me and my partner good night

Maxim Magazine named Big Ben their All-Maxim Team QB for 2008 this year.

CLICK HERE FOR THE MAXIM ARTICLE

Best line of the interview by Ben  “Pittsburgh is Iron City, Yuengling, and Rolling Rock,” Roethlisberger says. “It’s about the tough bars where the steelworkers and the coal miners hang out. It’s great to have a beer with them.”

CLICK HERE TO SEE PICS FROM STEELERS TRAINING CAMP 08

Win tickets to the next pre-season Steelers home game vs. Carolina

Time for a shocking confession: I've never watched Easy Rider. Isn't that embarrassing? I think I might even have lied about it before, for fear that a proper biker chick would have the DVD on her shelves at home and know the script off by heart.

I keep meaning to buy a copy, because the stills you see transformed into posters and prints look so cool. And today, a friend emailed me this YouTube clip and now I just have to watch it. What excellent music, gives you a whole new take on biking that's so far removed from the ethos of Japanese super rockets...

I'm going to leave it there, and let the video speak for itself, while I go and find myself a copy of Easy Rider. Sigh.

hey to the post down a few I got pics of her on her begging the undertaker

Dear Russian Friends,

I believe that last weekend your leaders signed an agreement that your soldiers would be leaving Georgia shortly. I would be much obliged if you would do the decent thing and keep to that agreement. Can I rely upon you to play the game, soon?

Yours respectfully,

tambman.

This is one of our favorites:  "There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved." - by George Sand   We hope everyone has a wonderful day =)

Yesterday was a fun filled day! First we went to Nick's Aunt and Uncle's house for lunch where we also met up with Nick's grandma and grandpa. It was so nice to see them again. It is clear that humor runs in Nick's family...everyone is so witty and quick, it's amazing when they all get together! I also had the pleasure of meeting Nick's cousin Chris for the first time yesterday. He lives in London England and we all video chatted with him yesterday...nice to meet you Chris!

When we got home my parents told us to get ready because they had a surprise. My birthday is at the end of August and Nick's is in September, but since we won't be here, my parents wanted to do something to celebrate with us. Last night, my parents took us out for dinner downtown and then we went to see DIRTY DANCING (the musical). It was great! "Nobody puts Baby in the corner!"  Thanks for a great night mom and dad!

For the Michael Phelps jock sniffer in your family, get them this great new t-shirt from hotnessfactory.com. Actually, I believe it's already been removed from the site but here is the image for your viewing pleasure. Click to view larger image.

Hi everyone just want to invite u all to veiw the pics from the Live Event in Moline Il @ the Verizion Wireless Center my home town... ECW and Smackdown last night Aug.19th 08 i just downloaded LOADS of pics enjoy

Thanks

Why do I have a feeling title shots matches as we know them have come to an end—at least temporarily?

Not that I don’t like the idea; as a matter of fact, whoever came up with it is getting very large kudos from me right now.  I don’t think I’ve seen anything that has piqued my interest in watching these matches since…..well, honestly, I can’t even remember.

When Raw announced Monday night that there would be a scramble for the World Heavyweight Title, it grabbed my interest immediately.  What better reason to order Unforgiven, right?

And if that isn’t enough, Smackdown is also having their own scramble. Nothing like making an already good thing even better.

I pretty much had a general idea who would be in the Raw match, but the Smackdown one came off as a bit of a surprise, bringing several of these guys out of what appeared to be practically nowhere.

But could the possibility exist that the likes of Kendrick, Benjamin or MVP could walk away with the top title of their brand at some point?

And think about it; “The Gold Standard” and THE Kendrick in a World Title match on a PPV.  These were actually the LAST two people I thought would actually be part of such a major event, even though both are getting decent pushes at the moment.

Could a current US Champion take it all? On the other hand, could a 184 pound, record-holding former tag champion really be in the title picture himself?

I’ve seen stranger things happen and figure if guys like Mysterio could snap up the WHC in his day, anything is possible.

Just when we fans think things are getting predictable, all of the sudden, we are thrown a curve ball, and though there’s going to be a lot of naysayer types out there wondering what the hell these guys are doing getting this opportunity, I for one give Creative the two thumbs up.

Maybe the “sudden pushes” of specific talent is too soon and they “aren’t really ready” for a major title shot in some of our eyes, but apparently someone in the higher end of the decision-making totem pole thinks otherwise.

Nevertheless, the popular belief seems to be leaning toward  Jeff Hardy or MVP to win. I wouldn’t be complaining there either; both superstars have potential and could do the title justice.  As for the Raw side, Punk could either retain or we may be thrown yet another shocker.

In any event, both scrambles should be interesting, especially with some of the undercard men involved.

I’m definitely ordering this pay per view; if nothing else interests me, the title scrambles alone certainly have my attention. Stay tuned!

Hello all!  We had such a great weekend with our families that we really had to catch up on work Mon/Tues, but it was so worth it!!  Miguel's Dad remains at home and Lorena's Mom is doing much better.  We both realized we NEED to win so bad!!  We want the perfect wedding for our parents just as much as for us :)  We can only dream of how happy they would be for us. Please go to our website and vote for us when the time comes...

Do you have dry skin all year round? Or maybe you just have a few dry spots? It's more common then you think. Some people, like myself, have dry hands all year round. Whether the skin on your face, hands, or elbows tend to be dry, the solution is the same - Moisturize! I know what you're thinking - "That's obvious!" What you might not know though is that you are constantly drying out your skin! Using a moisturizer isn't enough. Think about your daily regimen. What do you do first thing in the morning? Then compare it with the steps that I'm about to walk you through and you'll see that you are likely unintentionally drying out your skin.

Face:

1. Start with the right water temperature. If you've been reading my previous blog posts then you already know that hot water helps eliminate oils. So logically speaking, someone with dry skin should use cold or lukewarm water. In this step, you will just need to wet your face - That's it.
2. Next, prep your skin. Each and every time you touch water to your skin you are drying it out. That is why you need to protect it and prepare it. You can either exfoliate with an oil based gentle exfoliating scrub or massage a pre-wash oil into your skin. I would recommend using a pre-wash oil in the morning and an exfoliating scrub in the evening. You might be thinking "...isn't oil bad for my skin?" The answer is NO. While some oils can clog pores, the oils used in cosmetics and high quality beauty products do not. In fact, nothing could be better for your skin! The oil in the scrubs and pre-wash oil mixtures will moisturize your skin, rejuvenate it, and form a protective barrier. It will breakdown the dirt and impurities before you ever apply a soap so that you need to wash your face less. Exfoliating at night will help remove dead skin cells, and will give your skin all night to replenish any oils you might have stripped while exfoliating. Be careful though - DO NOT OVER SCRUB. You can't scrub away your dry skin to reveal a different kind of skin hidden below. All you are trying to do when you exfoliate is remove a few dead skin cells.
3. Now it's time to wash. Make sure that you pick a moisturizing and natural soap. The best soaps for your skin type will be glycerin based soaps. Glycerin is naturally moisturizing and will be gentle enough for your skin type. Many soaps currently on the market have a lot of the glycerin produced during the soap making process removed so that they can resell it. They then replace the removed glycerin with a synthetic substitute. What does this mean for you? Many commercial soaps are actually detergents and are very drying. So, stick to natural soaps containing glycerin. You can also look for soaps with Aloe, Vitamin E, or Shea butter in them as an added moisturizer.
4. Finally - Moisturize! Pick a good and simple moisturizer. If the ingredients list contains more then 10 ingredients then chances are that it isn't what you're looking for. Pick one that has a lot of oils like Olive Oil, Avocado Oil, Almond Oil, Aloe, Vitamin E etc. Make sure that you really massage the moisturizer into your skin paying close attention to your cheeks, neck, and any other severe dry spots that you might have. When it comes to the skin on your face, you don't need a thick and heavy moisturizer for it to work either. What it contains is more important then the thickness of it when it comes to your face.
5. Repeat! Make sure to do this twice a day (morning & night). You can also apply a moisturizer throughout the day if necessary.

Body & Hands:

The process for dry body parts such as hands, knees, and elbows are very similar.

1. Water. When washing your hands, use cold water if you can. When taking a shower though, this can be a bit tougher. In this case, I would recommend limiting hot shows and taking only warm baths. The hotter the water, the more drying it will likely be. You can also incorporate little bath goodies to help make your bath more moisturizing, but that's a top for another entry! Contact me at Rachel@athenasolivetree.com if you want suggestions.
2. Prep. Unless you have very severe dry skin on your body that cracks and turns red, you likely don't need to use a pre-wash oil. Just make sure to exfoliate regularly with an oil based scrub. I like sugar based scrubs because they are natural, dissolve slowly, and contain glycolic acid (think of it as a micro scrubber!). You don't need to exfoliate everywhere - just the driest parts. When it comes to your hands, I recommend still using a pre-wash oil if you have severely cracked skin. Use the pre-wash oil as if it were a cream cleanser. Then use only a small amount of soap afterwards to remove the oil - but very, very little soap.
3. Wash. Follow the same guidelines as for your face above. Pick a moisturizing oil and glycerin based soap.
4. Moisturize. When it comes to moisturizing the rest of your body, you have a few more choices. You can go with a lotion, cream, or body butter. I like body butters best though because they are usually the thickest. Mango, Cocoa, and Shea butters are my favorite.

So let's recap. If you have dry skin the key is to use cold-warm water, exfoliate and protect your skin, wash with moisturizing soaps, and always moisturize. If you think that you have a unique case or you have a combination like dry and acne prone skin or dry and sensitive skin, you can always contact me directly for advice or ideas at Rachel@athenasolivvetree.com. Thanks for reading!

Products I Recommend:

The Dry Skin Set
Pre-Wash Oil
Face & Body Scrub
Vitamin E Soap Bar
Milk & Honey Soap Bar
Aloe Soap Bar
Almond Honey Soap Bar
Apricot Scrub Soap Bar
Light Moisturizer

Over the years I have met many people who say that they have very oily skin - but do they really? Most people who think that they have oily skin really have combination skin. If your skin gets oily hours after washing it or get oily only around the T-Zone area, then you don't have severe oily skin. That doesn't mean that you can't learn something from this post too though!

People with very oily skin tend to have thick, dull, and acne prone skin. The good news, though, is that oily skin ages much slower then normal skin!

If you think that you have oily skin (severe or moderate), then you should make sure to do the following:

• Resist the urge to wash your skin more than 2 or 3 times a day.
• Don't use overly harsh products on your skin that claim to control oil. They will likely just damage your skin.
• Always, always, always use a very light moisturizer.
• Use an oil based soap. This means that you should use a natural soap rather than a detergent (which is what most mainstream soaps really are).
• Lastly, use warm water. The hotter the better so long as it doesn't feel like it's scorching.

I am sure that many of the above steps sound odd. If you have oily skin, then why would you want to put oil on your face? If you skin is oily, then why would you need a moisturizer? etc. The answer is simple. Your skin is oily because it produces too much oil and it isn't balanced. You need to return your skin to a balanced state. Your skin naturally tries to stay balanced, but you need the right products to help it achieve that. If you use a product that over dries your skin and strips it of it's oils, then it will naturally start producing more oil in an attempt to restore the balance.

The goal should be to breakdown and remove excess oil, not all oil. To remove oil you need oil. Some oils, such as those used in respectable skincare and cosmetic brands, are not harmful to your skin. They will help dissolve unwanted excess oil so that they can be washed away. Using an oil soap and hot water helps breakdown excess oil.

You also want to make sure that you use a moisturizer for the same reason. You need to restore a balance and in a way - train your skin. By using a moisturizer after washing your skin, you are removing excess oil, cleansing, and moisturizing it, which will balance out your skin. It may take a few weeks before you see results, but you will.

People with oily skin have a tendency to "over do it" with products. They use harsh soaps, oil controlling serums, or over wash their face. This strips the skin of necessary oils and can damage it (and cause your skin to start producing even more oil). The excess oil your skin produces, and the potential damage you migth be casuing, is the reason why people like you with oily skin tend to breakout. Once your skin returns to a balanced state that should stop.

So here is what I recommend you try:

• Find a natural oil based soap that won't clog pores. It can be a mild anti-acne soap, exfoliating soap or scrub, or a clay based soap. Stay away from anything that is too harsh though.
• Find a very light moisturizer that absorbs quickly into the skin.
• Carry around lotion-free tissues. You can use these during the day to pat your skin and remove excess oil without having to wash your face and strip it off too much oil.
• When you wash your face you should really massage the soap into your skin (at least 1 minute), and then rinse off with a lot of warm/hot water. Splash your face 10-20 times with the water to make sure that you really removed all of the soap.
• Wash your face only twice a day for 2-4 weeks. You can increase it after 4 weeks to 3 times a week, if really necessary.
• Use a clay based mask once a week if you have acne breakouts. Then reduce this to once every other week once your notice fewer breakouts. This will help remove impurities and excess oil.
• Use cotton pillow cases and change them at least once a week.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me at rachel@athenasolivetree.com. I'm always happy to help and answer questions.

Products I recommend for Oily Skin:

• French Green Clay and Sea Mud Clay Masks
• French Green Clay Soap
• Tea Tree Oil Soap
• Light Moisturizer
• Face & Body Scrub

If you're like most of my customers, then you have sensitive skin. That can mean many different things depending on how you define "sensitive". Here's how most people define it:

• Skin gets dry and tight
• Skin gets blotchy
• Skin gets itchy
• Skin breaks out

Now, it's important to note that these symptoms also overlap with other skin "problems". Truth is that these aren't really problems. If you think you have sensitive skin, then you are probably just using the wrong skin care products. You might be reacting to chemicals in the products you use, you might be using products meant to treat a problem that you don't really have, or maybe you just change products so often or use so many different types of products, and your skin never has a chance to adjust. If you find the right products for your skin and give your skin the time to get used to it, chances are that you will forget that you ever had "sensitive skin".

So here's my advice: Switch to 100% natural products. Be careful when looking for natural products though. Just because something is listed as "good for sensitive skin" or contains a natural product, doesn't mean that it is natural or fragrance free. You want to make sure that the products you choose are free of fragrances, preservatives, colorants, and essential oils. (I'll cover essential oils another day but they are STRONG. You don't want to mess with those if you have sensitive skin).

Also, try a couple of products over a month or two. When you find one that you like - stick to it. Also use as few products on your skin as possible. The most that you should use on your skin is a pre-wash oil, a gentle soap in the morning, a gentle exfoliating soap in the evening, and a very light moisturizer. That's it! Depending on your specific skin, you may be able to cut out the pre-wash oil and one of the soaps.

If you find that your skin tends to get tight or dry, then you are going to want to find a pre-wash oil on your skin before washing it. This is because it will form a barrier and help prevent your soap from stripping much needed oils. It will also help breakup makeup and dirt before you wash your face. This means that you won't need to lather as much or leave the soap on your face as much.

If you tend to break out when using the wrong products, then chances are that you are using too strong of a product. Stay away from products that say that they get rid of acne. Stay away from salicylic acid and benzoil peroxide (they are too strong and not natural). Also, stay away from Tea Tree oil which is a natural essential oil but will likely be too strong for you. Stick to products that have oatmeal, milk, and or honey in them. They are natural and mild cleansers that will clean your skin really well, but won't aggravate it and cause you to break out.

If you have sensitive skin and have some questions, you can email me at rachel@athenasolivetree.com. I'd be happy to help you!

Recommended Products:

Pre-Wash Oil - A mix of oils to cleanse, moisturize, and protect your skin.
Honey Oatmeal Soap Bar - A great gentle exfoliating and cleansing bar.
Milk & Honey Soap - The most gentle soap you'll ever find!
Spiced Oatmeal Soap - Try this one if you are looking for a naturally scented bar!
Mild Oatmeal Soap - The most gentle exfoliating soap bar you will ever find!
Sample Set of Soaps for Sensitive Skin - This set includes 4 soaps from the above list. It's a great deal and is perfect if you don't know which you would like to try first.

All products can be found at www.athenasolivetree.com