28 Day Diet | Day 10

We are on Day 10 and it's going to be a wonderful day starting with MEDITATION!  Who wouldn't love meditating, it provides great benefits: stress-busting, lowering blood pressure and bad cholesterol.  There are a few tools Dr. Oz provides us with in his article to help us get to the OM factor:

1.  How to Meditate CDs, can be purchased at a health store or on online.
2.  Insight Timer App.  Chimes to notify you when your desired timed meditation is over.
3.  A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook.

Below I've taped a meditation session that I hope you will join in on:

Sorry I said the 11th day in the video, hey it's 5 AM!!!

Namaste,




StyleDIVA

5 Questions...Get to Know our Guest

Get to know The Budgetnista - Tiffany Aliche

You are known for your sense of humor.  What is your favorite joke?: 

My favorite joke, is any joke that I tell. Much to the dismay of my family and friends, I'm notorious for laughing at my own corny jokes.

What is the best cocktail you've ever had?:

I don't drink because I don't like the taste of alcohol, but I have tried Amaretto Sours and liked them

If you could visit any place in the world where would it be?:

South Africa

Why do you like to save money?:

It's not that I like to save money. I just like to use money to live a purposeful, passionate life (LIVE RICHER). The money that I save goes towards that goal.

Do you have a charity you are passionate about?:

My friend Diesa Seidel has a nonprofit called, United Initiatives for Peace. Her nonprofit travels around the world providing female empowerment services for young women. Two years ago I went to Haiti to help facilitate UIP's girls camp for earthquake victims. It was a life altering experience.

Now, 10% of ALL that I make goes toward this amazing nonprofit: http://www.unitedinitiatives.org/

Tiffany Aliche goes by the monkier @TheBudgetnista and she is whipping the Divas and Sister Save Alot into shape with a Holiday Money Makeover this Saturday, 8AM on Cocktails and Conversations.  Won't you join us?  You can also visit her on her website www.thebudgetnista.com to learn about her new movement...Live Richer.

The 28 Day Diet | Day 9

Are you getting enough sleep?  Sometimes I think that I don't but my kids would disagree.  I definately get 7 - 8 per night, I could use 10!  Couldn't we all?  Now raise your hand if you have a little trouble getting to sleep some nights...***StyleDIVA hand in the air***  Well our new bud Dr. Oz talked to some of his celeb friends and they gave him some suggestions:

Rosie Perez makes a dried tea of chamomile flowers that her sister (a chef) told her to make before bedtime.

Jillian Michaels listens to books on tape and if she rolls over and is up in the middle of the night she recites the alphabet backward.  - sidebar, I don't know about you but after Z, Y, X I'd be so confused I'd never go to sleep.

Robin Hunt (Yes I'm a celeb!  Didn't you see me hanging with David Tutera?) says to try the Rain App on your smart phone or tablet.  iPad has a great one, it gives you several rain selections like: rain on the roof, rain hitting the ground, rain on water and my favorite is a rain with thunder.  Love, love, love this - trust me you will sleep like a baby after 5 minutes. 

Do you have a favorite trick to get the sandman to come?  Leave a comment below so we can share it on the air.

Sweet Dreams,

StyleDIVA

The 28 Day Diet | Day 8

Time to take it up a notch today, break out your new year workout gear and start sweating!  That's right do some physical activity for 30 minutes to reduce the risk of stroke and heart attacks by 30%.  Not use to working out?  Start with a walk, you'll be surprised how you feel about yourself when you get done.  If you are the Workout Dancehall Queen I'm going to challenge you to do something different to your workout routine.  Try belly dancing, go 6 miles instead of your normal 5 or give ZUMBA a try instead of sliding your membership card to walk the treadmill.  Day 8 ladies just 20 more to go, how do you feel?  Thanks Dr. Oz for making this journey loads of fun.  Now where is that belly dancing brochure?? - don't worry I'll be sure to report back how it went ;) (wink, wink). 

Giveaway | Bride and Groom Money Talk FAQ

As a way of saying thank you for listening to our show with Dr. Taffy Wagner and to make sure you start your marriage off right when it comes to talking about and managing your money; Dr. Taffy is offering our listeners a chance to win one of TWO prizes.  One winner will win a FREE financial counseling session for you and your significant other and one winner will receive a copy of her new book, Bride And Groom Money Talk FAQ. 

To enter simply leave a comment below.  Contest starts today and will run through Friday, February 3, 2021 @ 12:00 pm EST.  Two winners will be selected using Random.org and will be announced on both our blog and radio show on Saturday, February 4, 2012. 

Good luck everyone!

Talking love, marriage and MONEY with Dr. Taffy

As Gwen Guthrie's 1986 hit 'Ain't Nothing Going On But The Rent'  states..."No romance without finance" and she must have been right because money matters are one of the top three reason's why marriages end in divorce.

To make sure that you keep your money straight after saying "I Do", Dr. Taffy Wagner dropped by the studio to have virtual cocktails with us and discuss her new book, Bride and Groom Money Talk FAQ.  You can listen to the show below.

Listen to internet radio with Event Diva on Blog Talk Radio

And the giveaways go to

Two people will receive their choice of fabulous lip gloss from Perception and Co Lip Gloss Line. 

And the winners are…

Congratulations!

Please email us at cocktailsandconversation.divas@gmail.com with your contact information.

Cocktail of the Day | The Flirtini

Love is in the air and with Valentine’s Day just a few weeks away, the Cocktails and Conversation Divas want to help you put a little spice in your love life.  Play coy with your lova and serve him/her this cocktail after a long day at work; add a delicious home cooked meal (or one prepared by your favorite restaurant) and we can almost guarantee you that you will be thanked for your efforts later.

The 28 Day Diet | Day 7

Day 7 has some interesting possibilities.  Let's just say Dr. Laura Berman, host of In The Bedroom on OWN, helped with today's activity.  Put this one in your Daytimer..."Get Busy Getting Busy".  That's right ladies schedule some S-E-X to boost your immune system and decrease the likelihood of plaque buildup on the arteries.  I'm down!  Caveat for me, Big Poppie is 2 hours away, guess what Dr. Berman is giving me a pass, sort of.  She says and I quote, "no partner doesn't mean no sex.  This is about health and happiness, don't be afraid to take care of yourself."  Guess it's time to break out the "roommate" as one of my besties calls it.  LMBO!  Honey I'm scheduling you in on Monday!!!!  Sorry Dr. Berman but the roommate don't compare to Big Poppie, IJS!  Happy love making PEEPS.

Pic courtesy of Cosmo Mag Online

The 28 Day Diet | Day 6

I'm going to find todays task to be a chore but none the less helpful in the diet journey.  Here it is:  Write every bite, scribble every nibble (his words), be a slave to your food war (my words).  Even though this task is daunting it is essential.  I've had friends actually lose pounds by doing this because they were afraid to write down they had eaten a bag of chips for fear that....it was true!  LOL  The nice thing about doing this is that it is super easy.  You can jot things down in a notebook or Oz suggests going technical and using one of the following apps to help you:

PeerTrainer (actually works with WW points)
Dailyburn (includes workouts and it's FREE)
SPARKPeople
Lose It! (This is actually an IPad app - Whoo Hoo!!!)

The StyleDIVA is only familiar with one of these and that's SPARKPeople, they flood my email box with stuff.  Some of it helpful some just spam but they do have lots of cool tools on their site that are helpful with weightloss.  Pick your favorite method and see where some of the pitfalls in your diet are coming from.  Remember write it all down, from that stop at the vending machine to the peas you eat off of your son's plate.  Maybe we'll lose twice the weight we expect to lose as the article claims people that track do....I'm game are you?

Let's turn YIKES into Morning Sexy!

The 28 Day Diet | Day 5

Memorize a poem today.  The good Dr is trying to give us a cognitive boost, invigorate the spirit…get the blood pumping!  He suggested a nice poem but here’s the one I’m choosing.  It’s by Jill Scott from her The Moments, The Minutes, The Hours book of poetry.  Diva grabs mic……

To My New Lover

For the first time I’ve allowed someone, no you, to strip me of all my

Clothing, all my confusion, all my doubt, all my fear of love

And life.

I am Naked.  Yes naked, Butt naked and

Impressed with your ability to see me,

To see ME

Clearly

Through my private, lonely haze,

You touch me.

You feel me and make me tremble with the possibilities of

Tomorrow, the next day, the next day and forever baby.

With you,

I feel my cloud cleared

My rain washing me

With you

My flower blooms in December cold

With you

I lose mental chaos and gain tranquility

You have my power and when I grow weary,

You replenish me

With you

My angry ocean sits placid easy calm

With you

I have become

My entire self.

Thank you.

Drops mic….dramatic pause.  I’d say that gave me a boost!  So get yourself some culture, practice and put your favorite poem to memory to get those brain cells circulating today.  Send us your favorite poem in the comments section.  Ciao!

Upcoming Show | Bride and Groom Money Talk with Dr. Taffy Wagner

On this Saturday's show the Divas are talking about love...marriage....and MONEY!  Joining the Divas for cocktails is Dr. Taffy Wagner, author of the new book Bride and Groom Money Talk FAQ.  On the show Dr. Wagner will address the importance of having the "money talk" right after saying "I do" along with suggestions on how couples can start the discussion.  With communication breakdown and financial problems listed as two of the most common reasons why marriages fail, Dr. Wagner's new book will provide you with the tools you need to make your marriage a strong one.

If you or someone you know is getting married, then this is one show you won't want to miss.  Join us on Saturday, January 28, 2012 on Cocktails and Conversation.

We'll have a cocktail waiting for you!

The 28 Day Diet | Day 4

Remember I mentioned that this diet was a bit on the unconventional side?  Well day 4 starts us out with FORGIVENESS.  Not forgiveness because you ate those Oreos last night but of someone that you haven’t forgiven.  Is there someone?  I promise you I did this exercise and could not think of a single soul that I needed to forgive.  Therefore the only person I have to blame for this poundage that rest on me is GULP… ME!  Maybe I should forgive myself, nah that just sounds weird.  But if there is someone that’s wronged you, poured you a glass of haterade on your worst day or somebody that just ticked you the heck off – L I Git.  That’s my term for Let It Go!  Madam Oprah says, “Forgiveness is letting go of the hope that the past will changed.”  Dang that women is smart.  Don’t hold on to what someone has done in the past, release that devil and get on track with what’s important Y-O-U!

The 28 Day Diet | Day 3

Dr. Oz suggests cooking 4 of the following food groups today.  Yeah he doesn’t know me very well, first I don’t do much cooking and second two of the groups he’s suggesting are on my, "I haven’t even eaten in my life list."  Be it as it may here are his suggestions:

      1.        Wild Salmon – YUCK! (with my best 3 year old YUCK face) I know this stuff is good for you but I’ve never been able to stomach it.  Omega 3’s reduce clotting and provide for less plaque buildup in the arteries.  Luckily I don’t have this as an issue, I’m eating a pork chop tonight.

      2.       Tomatoes – Okay I’m good with this one for two reasons, 1) you don’t have to cook them you can just pop them in your mouth and 2) I like snacking on cherry tomatoes during the day so this one is a go for me.  According to Oz people with hypertension can see their systolic points drop by 10 and their diastolic a 14 point drop by including these in your diet. 

3.       Garlic – another WIN!  One of my favorite seasonings, I use it so much I’m sure many people don’t want to stand near me after I’ve had a meal.  This one is also a good heart booster and protects you from hardening of the arteries.

4.       Lima Beans – again this is not on my list of favs so I’m going to pass.  These beans also have heart boosting potential with magnesium however I'm sure if you sleep with someone they won't be happy you had them for dinner.  Oy do I remember those nights when!

There you have it, that’s all you need to do today is implement these into your diet on day 3 and learn how to integrate them more for HEART SMART eating.