Flashback for the future....

A very good friend of mine forwarded me a biweekly newsletter today that he had received.

Earlier on this week, we had been talking about the effects of tanning beds (I'm pro, he's against). Just out of curiosity (I'm a woman remember!) I clicked on the link and after reading the concerning article, my attention was drawn to another subject headline "Do what you love : Time is too short to do anything else". The article was actually a commencement speech Steve Jobs, CEO Apple and Pixar Animation had given at Stanford University in 2005.

I was so inspired by what Steve Jobs said that I thought it very appropriate to end this year with a video of this speech. I truly hope you find it just as inspiring as I do.

Have a wonderful New Years eve and see you in 2008!

I'm dreaming of a white christmas......not!

As gorgeous and fairytale-like a white christmas is, I would much, much rather be lying on a tropical beach in the caribbean than sitting in front of a log fire drinking eggnog - wouldn't you?

I presume it's what we're used to. Having lived in a country where the average temperature didn't go below 86°F at night, I longed for a day when I could walk outside without feeling like I had stepped into a sauna. When I moved to the Northern part of Europe, where the winters are wet and cold to very cold, I yearned for the time I had spent in the tropics! Either I'm just spoilt rotten or its a question of thinking that the proverbial grass is always greener on the other side.

Still, I guess that it would be weird to see a christmas tree covered in lights and decorations next to a palm tree, and Santa Claus walking around on the beach.....for most of us anyway!

One could of course do what a friend of mine has planned. He and his son are going ice fishing during the christmas vacation. They have rented a cabin smack next to the lake, so all they have to do is roll out of their thermal sleeping bag, into their winter undies, zip up their eiderdown jackets, cut a hole in the ice and presto - they're fishing. Whether they'll actually catch something is beside the point, it's the experience that counts according to them.

If you have more time to travel or prefer to outdo your friends vacation stories, why not go on an orca whale safari in Scandanavia? http://www.nordicsaga.com/ offers unique adventures, though not for the faint hearted.

As for me, I'll be spending my christmas at home, in front of the log fire, mesmerized by the dancing flames, dreaming about a caribbean beach christmas far away. I wish you ALL a very merry christmas.

How do you know its for real and that he's "the one" ?

When it comes to relationships women seem to go about it in a totally different way than men. We tend to be open and upfront about ourselves, while men seem less likely to let us get a glimpse of why they are who they are.

So how do you know what you can share and can't? There isn't a handbook that you can refer to so that you don't make a mistake. Sure, there are plenty of books written that talk about how to keep your relationship going, or how to rekindle the love in your life. There are also many that have information about how to approach a prospective partner, be it male or female but I have come across few that take a step by step approach on how to be and act with a certain type of person.

You see, that is where the difficulty lies. There are several different types of men, from the player to the introvert, just as there are several types of women, from the quiet to the wild ones, yet we still haven't gotten to a point where we know which type suits which best, if opposites do or do not attract, or whether one should refrain from even trying with a certain person.

Having said that, and having the necessary experience in relationships myself, with which I have learned the hard way, I have come to the conclusion that there is one thing, and one thing only that can be of sound help when coming into contact with the opposite (or same) sex.

Your Intuition.

If you hear the voice inside your head, no matter how quiet, tell you that the person you are talking to is a such and such type, LISTEN!

It may seem foolish and silly but believe me, I've tried this approach and it really does work, each and every time. Not that I wanted to learn this, in fact, I was so stubborn I neglected to listen several times before I understood what was going on, but now each time I meet someone new, I can "sense" what type of person this is, just by listening to my intuition.

You do need to train yourself a little. Even though your intuition has always been there, not many people actually take the time to listen to it, or worse, discard or neglect it thinking that its wrong, and end up getting hurt.

Do yourself a favor, next time your intuition tells you that he's a player, smile at him, give him your sexiest look and then walk away without looking back! You'll save yourself time, energy and possibly money by doing just that.

Don't just take my word for it, try it out, but be honest with yourself and you'll soon find you will only be spending time with the "right" type for you.

Build a professional website in 24 hrs with no technical knowledge at all!

A bold statement, I know.

Nowadays almost everyone is on the internet highway and wants to buy some land in cyberspace. "Online" real estate, in which I mean owning a domain name and hosting a website is big business, as in multi million dollar business!

Unfortunately, due to that same fact, prices, ranging from $670 - $ 5000 that are asked by web designers are not affordable to all. So, several hosting sites now offer their software (when you buy a domainname or buy hostingspace for your website with them) which one can use to "build" their own site with. And thats were it gets difficult.

How do you know that you can understand the way their website building software works? That you don't need to be at least a little bit tech savvy in order to be able to use their software? That it really is as easy as they say it is?

You don't. You usually have to buy in order to try.

And believe me, I have tried. I don't know whether it is because I really no nothing about html or PHP or source codes etc. or that it's because I'm a woman but I just couldn't seem to build my site exactly the way I wanted it to look like.

That is, until I stumbled upon BlueVoda . I was behind my computer once again getting very frustrated that I couldn't make the FTP program thingy work (yeah, I did learn several names of the techincal stuff, but still don't know how to use them) and out of utter desperation typed in easy website builder software in my browser.

The name bluevoda-free website builder came up on my screen and so I clicked on it. What I found was truly mind blowing, in a positive way. With their software program, which you can download for free, and use for free, I was able to design my site exactly the way I wanted it, I even was able to put music on it! To see what I mean, check out http://www.edenandelle.com/

And the best thing is, I don't need to know ANYTHING about programming websites or codes. It's really simple, and best of all, its fun to do. I thoroughly enjoyed building my website, and now add extra pages onto it once in a while just because I can!

BlueVoda has video tutorials with step by step explanations of anything you would like to do, which make it childsplay to understand. And, if there is something which you really can't get the hang of, their support team gives you an efficient and fast answer.

If you would like more information please click on the following link.

www.edenandelle.com/Bvpage.html

I highly recommend you check it out, play around with the website builder, have fun designing your own website and then come back and thank me...I'll be waiting!

Enjoy!

Online Coaching - Coaching with a difference ?

Are you tired of reading about personal coaches who can turn your life around if you pay them enough and follow their step by step coaching program only to find out that they are telling you what you already know and have heard from so many others ?

What if you came across one person who was commited to truly helping you achieve what YOU wanted. Not just telling you what to do to change but actually showing and helping you. Wouldn't you call that coaching with a difference.

We all have dreams and desires yet most of us have no idea of how to attain them. We begin to search for help and come across dozens of personal coaches and courses that all claim to be the ideal one for you.

But how these coaches know what it is you need? That their program is the right one for you. Do they know you? Do they have some kind of physic ability which enables them to understand someone they have never even met?

This is where coaching with a difference is truly different. When a coach is coaching with a difference they don't claim to turn your life around if you work with them or buy one of their courses, simply because they don't know you yet.

Only after a personal call or meeting with you can you know if that certain coach is someone who you can trust and open up to. Only then can you know if the collaboration will give you exactly what it is YOU need.

It is though of great importance that you understand that you are going to be taken out of your comfort zone. A place where many of us have been in for a great number of years. This is why you must have "met" and talked to your coach before beginning a program with them. No one opens up to a person they don't know, especially if it is about issues they have kept bottled up for a long time.

So before you buy or register for any coaching program or course, get the person on the phone, see how you feel while talking to them. If it feels right, then you are on the road to a sometimes rocky but wonderful start of living the life as you truly desire to.

Coaches who teach coaching with a difference will be honored to be your mentor.

Long distance relationships...do they last?

This question was posed to me by a reader of Eden & Elle magazine . She wrote me a letter explaining that she was involved with a man on the other side of the ocean (she's from Utah, he lives in England), one that she had never seen before and was now wondering what the chances of their relationship succeeding was.

They had met several months earlier on a forum, had started mailing with one another, their communication had evolved to calling each other on an almost daily basis. They were now in love and working hard to make their relationship develop and mature.

Since I have moved several times in my life from country to country, and continent to continent, I have had my fair share of leaving behind my (at the time) boyfriend and trying to make a long distance relaitonship work. Of course, I was only a teenager and I don't think you can really compare those relationships to adult mature relationships, but still.

Relationships are already a challenge when the partners are able to see each other on a frequent basis, they get to know each others' flaws as well as their good characteristics. They get to explore each other not only emotionally but physically as well, something which isn't possible in long distance relationships.

Yet, in this cyber age, where people spend so much time behind their computers, it is only logical that they begin to elaborate their efforts in their search for happiness. Not to mention the fact that its easier to talk to someone who can't see you, who you can open up to and tell your deepest darkest secrets to and then with a click of the mouse erase from your life like they never existed if they say something you don't appreciate.

Bottom line is, I think that her relationship has just as much chance to work out as it would when she was dating someone in her hometown. Maybe even more so, as the relationship is built solely on emotional attraction, not physical attraction, so you know for sure that your partner is not in the relationship just for the sex.

U.S.A. Healthcare - The American Dream ?

With the 2008 elections on their way, each candidate has their own strategy to want to improve the health care in the U.S. In a country where almost EVERYTHING is possible and that still draws many migrants, be they legal or illegal to achieve the "American dream", it sure has a bad reputation when it comes to health insurance.

I happened to watch Oprah today, the show was about the movie Michael Moore had made called "Sicko". The movie has caused quite a controversy, not only by its candor but by bringing the many problems that the American health care system has out into the open for all to see and hear. There are 50 million people in the States who aren't insured, that's huge don't you think?

Here in Europe, especially in the Benelux, health care is the same for everyone. Whether you are the son of the garbage disposal man or the son of the C.E.O., you will be treated the same. Of course, we have the opportunity to pay for additional private insurance, but this isn't really necessary, unless you prefer, for example, to have a private room when staying in hospital.

The average we pay annually for health care is +/- €100,00 ($ 130,00) PER family. When we visit a G.P. , we receive an invoice which we deliver to the health care company we CHOSE to be insured with, and we receive approx. 75% back from what we paid the G.P. in the first place. Medicine prescribed by the doctor is also 70% - 90% of what you would pay if you weren't insured. The same applies for specialists (though this may be 65% depending on what he/she is specialized in). Everyone, young and old, has a special card which looks like a credit card. It has the details of the person on the computer chip, and is used whenever we have to enter hospital or buy things at the pharmacy. It basically shows that our medical history is up to date and that we are insured.

You cannot NOT be insured here, that's how easy and fair it is.

There is a difference however, when it comes to being self-employed. The annual payments are higher then, and you have to choose between basic health care and all inclusive health care, but the amount also depends on how much you earn. Yet even then the annual payments are between €750,00 ($900,00)- €1500,00 ($1800,00) per year which I believe is a lot less than the average self-employed American has to pay.

As powerful as the U.S. is, maybe its time they learned from the smaller, somewhat "insignificant" countries on how to truly care about their citizens. To me, there are 50 million reasons for doing so. Let's hope that one of the presidential candidates did their homework and listened to what Michael Moore had to say.

A healthy mind and body without leaving your home

Here in Belgium it was mothers day on August 15th and as a gift from my kids they bought a Wii. For those of you who think it's a rude word, let me explain. A Wii is a game console made by Nintendo, sort of like the play station 3 or the x-box 360. The difference is its innovative new control scheme. Instead of using a traditional controller, the Wii relies on the Wiimote,a device that looks like a standard television remote, and the "nunchuck" attachment for it to control your games.

The system uses infrared sensors to detect the motion of the two devices. The applications of this control scheme make you feel as if you are actually holding whatever item you need to play the game,e.g. where you swing the Wiimote to swing a tennis racket or sword, aim it like a gun and shoot on screen bad guys or even tilt the Wiimote left and right to steer cars.

It was very easy to install, even by my standards, since I'm not tech savvy and I thoroughly enjoyed playing the different games like tennis, bowling and golf. So much so that I woke up the next morning with muscle ache! Nintendo has also introduced brain academy, a game which trains your brain. Initially it was only sold for the DS Lite but now I can "work" on keeping not only my body but my mind fit and healthy too.

If you think its only for the young generation, think again. My mom is 61 years of age and she enjoys playing on the Wii just as much as my kids do. This is the first game console that I have found interesting and fun to do. No more sitting on my butt trying to understand how all the different buttons work with my thumbs (with my eldest getting frustrated because I don't know what I'm doing) but good exercise in the comfort of my own home.

I use it several times a week, sometimes for pure fun, sometimes to help me relax and relieve the stress that undoubtably many people feel throughout their week. For christmas I'm going to buy myself a game called "trauma center second opinion". I've seen how it works on YOUTUBE and it looks really cool! :=)

Luscious lips....?

It's been just over a week since I had my lips enhanced. One thing I learned is to ask everything BEFORE I have any kind of changes done to my body. Not that I wasn't given the chance to do so during the initial consultation since the surgeon was very patient and answered all and any questions I had but I should have asked more. Then again, if I had known exactly how my lips were going to be enhanced I may not even have had them done.

I knew I was going to need a local anesthetic, what I didn't realize is that that was going to damn well hurt more than the enhancement itself (but I guess that's coz by the time the surgeon injected the liquid I didn't feel anything anymore due to the anesthetic) I also didn't realize that my lips were not going to be exactly the way I wanted them to be as soon as the enhancement was finished so when I looked in the mirror directly afterwards I was shocked!

Fortunately the nurses at the clinic and the doctor himself reassured me that the swelling, which was partly due to the anesthetic and partly due to the "surgery" itself, would go down within the next 24 to 48 hours. And they were right. The area surrounding my lips was almost completely normal at he day after and my lips themselves were looking deliciously full & exactly the way I pictured them to be.

So I am very happy that I had this done, however I would suggest that if you do decide to have any part of your body changed or enhanced, try to find a doctor who can show you what the end result will look like on a computer by means of digital photography or something like that. I didn't and though I personally know the surgeon who did my lips, it was something I should have asked him to show me.

Let me end this by saying I thought about this procedure for about a year before I actually went ahead with it, collecting information, pondering about whether it would make me FEEL happier or not. If it would change anything in my life and to make sure I was only doing this for me, myself and I and no-one else. It's very important that you never have any type of surgery or procedure done unless you are the one that truly feels it will make you feel happier.

Lips like Angelina Jolie !?!

Have you ever looked closely at a picture of Angelina Jolie? I think she's attractive but not because she is well proportioned, more because she doesn't care what anyone thinks of her and the way she looks. Her lips have been the topic of conversation numerous times as people try to figure out whether they are naturally full or cosmetic surgery has been used.

I like her lips, and natural or not, they suit her. So what if they were cosmetically enhanced, if SHE feels better with herself that way, it's her prerogative. And that's my whole point, when does one have the right to criticize how another looks? Is it not up to the person themselves.

Just look at Mick Jagger, do you really think anyone in their right mind would have their lips enhanced like that?! I doubt it but those lips have become a trademark for Mr. Jagger and if he FEELS comfortable with them, then rock on!

Even though we now live in a society where beauty equals a size 4, it wasn't always this way.In the 1600's women with that same size were considered malnourished and not attractive by society. So, basically it comes down to what the norm of society is. Many doctors maintain that it is not unhealthy to be full bodied--that stress and weight fluctuations are medically more dangerous than weight itself.

When I was a kid I was very skinny. No amount of food I ate would help me gain weight and even though I repeatedly asked the doctor for some form of weight gain products he refused saying that I was healthy and didn't need them. Actually, I didn't mind being so skinny but I was mad at him because I was being teased at school, he wasn't.

In other words outside pressure made me feel as if I was abnormal when in reality I was just thinner than a lot of others, nothing more, nothing less.

So it doesn't matter if you are "too" thin or overweight, what does is your health. That and how you FEEL about yourself is much more important than what society says. Having said this,I'm off to have my droopy thin lined lips plumped up a little tomorrow, but ONLY because I want to.

Poker Anyone?

It's a far stretch from the illegal back room poker games to what poker is now. Poker made the evolutionary jump from being viewed as a game in 2003 to being viewed as a sport in the United States. This mainstream acceptance was due to increased media coverage of high-stakes poker tournaments such as the World Series of Poker and various tournaments on the World Poker Tour.

Although there are a wide variety of ways that poker can be played, the tournament format covered by all of these entities is Texas No Limit Hold’em. In high stakes games, Hold’em is simply the most exciting format of poker, especially when an audience is watching.

With online poker being readily accessible for almost everyone, the number of players has expanded to the unlimited and young and old, women and men enjoy it. Contradictory to what many think, poker is not a game of chance but of mathematical probability and good knowledge of "reading" peoples' behavior. For this reason many poker players wear dark glasses or some form of hat to hide their expressions.

For me, it's a game I am enjoying learning, one where I have to use my brain cells and even though I'm a real novice I get fired up when I feel I have a winning hand, usually one which doesn't coincide with a traditional winners hand.

But....seeing as I don't play for money, I take the risk and several times have found myself winning that certain hand. I haven't figured out yet if that's due to luck or being talented at it so I'll leave that in the middle but the exhilarated feeling remains all the same.

I've been thinking about starting a ladies poker night once a month...anyone care to join?

A liscense to motherhood

A local TV station aired a rather controversial documentary the other night about teenagers who are pregnant. It wasn't so much the content that stirred up a commotion, rather the fact that the girls were all under 14 years of age, except one, and they were proud to be expecting.

The program started off with a local celebrity's' daughter who was 16 years of age and pregnant with her second! child. Her first pregnancy had already been highly publicized the year before and together with her boyfriend she had decided that they didn't want a big gap in age difference between their children therefore she had gotten pregnant again.

Here in Belgium where there is a church on almost every street corner and many Belgians are still highly religious, teen pregnancies are quite scandalous. Our neighbouring country, The Netherlands just north of Belgium, seems to accept teen pregnancies much more easily though they have recently begun a campaign to inform the youth of today that being a parent at such an early age just ain't all that!

When I think back to my first pregnancy at the ripe young age of 23 years old, I still hear the echoing words of my mom saying that I would be able to grow up together with my child. In other words, that I was way too young to take on the responsibility of motherhood. And even though in hindsight I did have the greatest time of my life goofing around with my son I do understand that if it hadn't been for her help and advice I might not have done so well with my son.

However, by the time my third child was born over a decade and a half later I must say that there is a vast difference in how I felt emotionally and I was able to enjoy my daughter as a newborn baby much more not to mention more efficiently.

Maybe it might be healthier for every girl or woman to actually realize what being a mom actually entails BEFORE getting pregnant and a good way of doing this would be to take an exam for motherhood, receiving a licence to get pregnant if you pass.

It may sound far out and non ethical, but is it ethical for teenagers to have babies when they are still kids themselves?

In the end, if the girl is lucky she will have a mom who will stand by her side and help taking on most of the "work" a baby brings, when the girl goes to school in the day. If she's not that lucky, then the consequences are heart breaking for both the new teen mom and her baby.

The U.K. before and after July 1st

I was talking to a friend of mine who lives in Kent, England last night and the subject of smoking came up. She's a smoker and feels that her social activities have been intruded upon due to a new law.

On the 1st July 2007 a general smoking ban was enforced in the United Kingdom. As an ex smoker I understand both the pros and cons of this new law. However, in my humble opinion I feel that the ban is a little over the top.

I understand that non smokers want to enjoy social activities without smoke in their vicinity and am for a general smoking ban in government buildings but to ban smoking in ALL public places including bars, pubs and restaurants, even ones which have designated smoking rooms is going too far.

The reason for the law is to "save thousands of peoples' lives" according to Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt, after commons and the cabinet voted in 2006. However, Simon Clark, director of smoking support group Forest, said: "This is a double whammy and an unnecessary and illiberal piece of legislation that denies freedom of choice to millions of people.

To me, the freedom of choice is what makes people individuals and if one wishes to smoke, as long as it doesn't bother others then one should be allowed to do so. As for the ban saving thousands of lives. Shouldn't alcohol consumption be banned then too? Since many people die of alcohol whether it be because they died of drinking too much or because of drunk drivers getting behind the wheel causing horrible accidents and killing someone.

I learned a long time ago that if my parents wouldn't let me do something then I would come up with an inventive idea and solution to do that certain thing anyway, without actually defying my parents rules. And that's probably what's going to happen in this case too.

The Age Of Designer Bodies......

I'm not really into following trends but I do like to check out what's happening when it comes to the latest fads and crazes just so I know what my kids are talking about. I surf to a trend magazine about twice a month and last night I had some extra time on my hands so I did just that.

For years now the percentage of (especially) women having plastic surgery has been steadily growing but it still came as a big surprise when I read that the latest trend in plastic surgery is "designer vagina's"!

It seems Women are undertaking all kinds of modifications down below,including tightening, labial reductions, clitoral enhancements and G spot augmentations, and all just to "beautify"their womanhood. The article goes on to say that many females have issues when it comes to the appearance of their vagina's, and this low self-esteem can have a negative influence on their sex lives.

I don't know about any of you but I for one have absolutely no intention of having my private parts "fixed" just for the sake of aesthetics. I don't condone it, and if medically necessary I can totally understand it but the surgery is risky with many doctors advising against it and causing increasing concerns from gynecologists.

Still, who am I to talk. Years ago I told anyone who would listen that I would NEVER have any type of plastic surgery done, and I still won't crack under the pressure of the media with all the anti wrinkle creams etc.

But.....if one day I wake and I don't like what I see in the mirror who knows, I might just make an appointment yet even then, I know that if I were to have plastic surgery, it would ONLY be because me, myself and I desire it and not for anyone else.

Mediation before Meditation

Being a single mom with 3 kids requires a lot of patience and skill. Being a mediator is of utmost importance when the two eldest just can't seem to agree on who plays on the x-box or Nintendo Wii next.

At times when an argument is on the verge of becoming a full scale fight, though of course it's better to nip the argument in the bud, a mom steps up in order to try to calm everyone down and adjust the situation in such a way that it becomes a win/win for each. Unfortunately if you're tired, worn out and still have so much to do with little time to do it in, mediation isn't always an easy thing to do. Sometimes you feel as if you just want to get in your car and escape the commotion at your house.

I'm one of the first to admit that being a single mom in combination with working, doing the household chores like cooking, cleaning, ironing etc. is physically and mentally draining and it doesn't seem to get any easier with the kids getting older. Add to that my sleep was interrupted each night due to my youngest daughters' recurring nightmares and you could say I was a walking zombie at times.

Therefore a couple of months ago I began to search for something, anything that would help me regenerate faster and keep my positive attitude alive. I am not for any kind of synthetic pill or such, and you will rarely see me take an aspirin for a headache so it had to be something that I didn't need to digest.

After a couple of hours of searching I came across a site that not only claimed to do what I needed but a whole lot more.The "sales" page wasn't very appealing and I had a hard time believing all of what was written. It even sounded a little wacky but it must have made enough sense to me because after another night of interrupted sleep, I ordered it the next day. I don't know exactly why but my gut feeling told me it was OK to do so and truthfully I was so tired I would have tried pretty much anything.

I didn't have to wait until the product was delivered to my door as you can download it directly after purchase and that very same evening I had my first experience of brainwave entrainment.
The pdf guide that goes with it explains fully how it works and the forum is a useful tool for newbies and veterans alike. Since I began using brainwave entrainment I regenerate much more quickly, am able to relax easier, am more motivated, creative and positive and just enjoy my life better.

I even made Cd's of the product for my kids to listen to at night before they go to bed and they are now achieving better grades in school and aren't as agitated as they used to be.
For me, Quantum Mind Power was and is a form of meditation that I thoroughly recommend to anyone who feels that they are not in control of their life or are just looking for a way to meditate that is easy to apply.

If he said you had a beautiful body....

Would you believe him?

Even though I was a model for several years I never saw myself as beautiful. My agency said I was, the photographers I worked with, my boyfriend. And my friends told me they envied my beauty but I didn't believe any of them.

In fact, each time I saw the finished photos (and this was before photoshop and digital photography had been introduced) I didn't even really feel that the girl in the photos was me. It was like I was looking at someone else, at a girl who I envied and wished I could resemble.

You are probably wondering why I worked as a model when I didn't feel like one but the moment I got in front of a camera, there was an inner switch that "flicked" on and I lost any and all inhibitions about my looks, just utterly enjoying myself until the photographer finished.

Usually when you read about girls feeling this way you automatically assume that they felt they were "overweight" but I was exactly the opposite. I weighed approx. 100 lbs and with my 5 ft 5 in height that wasn't very much. I had one thing that many other girls did not have, and it was the main reason I had so much work. I had large breasts. Somehow almost any weight I gained went straight to my chest while my waist and hips remained very slim.Basically I had the measurements of a human barbie doll.

Now, years later, I understand that the reason I felt the way I did was due to lack of self confidence and the self consciousness about my weight. I had a skewed view of what I saw in the mirror and what others saw.

I felt guilty every time I dared complain about my weight, being told that I should be very lucky with how I was built. I despised diet commercials in the media, quickly flipping a page in a magazine or changing the channel on TV.

Almost 20 years have passed and Society's idea of a "perfect" body still doesn't seem to have changed much. I feel blessed that I have at least gained some weight after 3 pregnancies and am much more comfortable with my body now. I will probably never be what many refer to as overweight but at least I'm not a human barbie doll anymore.

I totally admire women like Jennifer Lopez and Beyoncé Knowles for their bootie and refusal to lose weight just because of the "norm".
I truly hope that with celebrities like the above, women of today will embrace their bodies whatever shape, size and weight they have more readily and be proud of what they look like.