Any Botox users out there? Well, before you go for your next wrinkle-smoothing injection, you may want to reconsider. According to Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, 16 people have died from complications related to Botox and Myobloc injections. Click here.

Botox, as any beauty-savvy consumer knows, is made from the botulinum toxin, which paralyzes muscles (sounds awful, I know), but the result is that fewer lines or wrinkles appear on the face. Now, isn’t that worth having botulism injected into you??

The problem has arisen, however, in about 180 cases reported to the FDA, where patients have experienced muscle weakness, difficulty swallowing or aspiration pneumonia. And most recently, we have heard reports of those 16 people who paid the ultimate price for looking years younger.

If you don’t want to take that risk anymore, you may want to consider Fraxel Laser Therapy. The FDA has approved Fraxel to treat acne scars, age spots, melasma and wrinkles around the eyes. I’ve had several treatments already to remove some pigmentation on my face and have been very pleased with the side benefit of tighter skin under my eyes. Fraxel helps rebuild collagen from the dermal layer of the skin, resulting in more “plumpness” and fewer lines on the face. Similar to the results you get from Botox. But I haven’t heard of anyone dying from Fraxel yet.

For more information on Fraxel Laser Therapy, log onto this website: www.fraxel.com

    Something funny happened yesterday that I wanted to share with you. For years and years, I heard from one dermatologist after the next that the absolute BEST beauty secret every woman needs to know is to wear sunscreen every single day of her life. I ignored their advice up until recently. I now rub a layer of spf 70 sunscreen on my face each morning to ward off damaging ultraviolet rays. And I feel good about that.

    So yesterday morning, I thought I would share this keen advice with my teenager. I figured if I could teach her to take care of her flawless young skin now, it would still be flawless and beautiful when she was my age.

    “Wear sunscreen on your face every single day, Hon, and your skin will be so beautiful when you’re my age, you’ll look years younger than I do.” And off we both went to school and work.

    That night, before she went to bed, my daughter walked into my room and told me that she decided to listen to my advice and put sunscreen on. And it was rubbed in all over her face.

    I had to laugh because I guess I left out the part where she’s supposed to wear sunscreen during the day, NOT at night.

    The moral of the story? Be VERY specific whenever you’re speaking to teenagers.

    I’ve been spouting off left and right in my blog and columns to re-energize your life and “try something new this year.” And I meant every word of it . . . for you guys. But for the last few years, I had yet to follow my own advice, content to stay in my rut and keep the routine I’d grown accustomed to. I am such a creature of habit.

    However, this past weekend I tried something I never thought I would, long ago dismissing the possibility that it would ever interest me. I went golfing -- played 18 holes with a friend of mine, an avid golfer, out in La Quinta. I was pushing for a massage at the spa, but she was insistent. And I’m glad she was. Because guess what? I discovered that I really LOVE golf! And that I’m pretty darn good at it, too! I sunk a
40-foot putt and hit a 120-yard approach shot! For those of you who don’t golf, let me translate: That’s AMAZING for someone who has never picked up a golf club before, so says my friend!

    I never understood why people would waste so much time on the weekend knocking a little ball around, but NOW I get it!

    Discovering golf has left me invigorated and open to more new experiences. I had no idea it could be so much fun! What else have I been missing out on?

    This weekend, I learned a few lessons: Don’t discount something until you’ve tried it. And keep your head down when you swing

    Did you know that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women? It’s one of those shocking statistics you hear that raises an eyebrow, but is quickly forgotten. (Like the fact that Americans consume 156 pounds of sugar per capita, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That’s 31 5-pound bags for each of us!)

    We forget about this important statistic because so many of us could never even entertain the idea that we have heart problems. How could we? We’re alive and breathing and able to multi-task everyday. Surely, a heart problem would slow us down, wouldn’t it?

    Besides, what I find hard to believe, is that if cardiovascular disease claims the lives of more women than the next 5 causes of death combined, then why don’t I know ONE WOMAN who has died of it?

    Even so, it’s a threat to take very seriously, no matter who you are, how busy you are, or what your age. Here are some quick facts from the American Heart Association to keep in mind:

•Only 13% of women view heart disease as a health threat, even though it’s women’s No. 1 killer.
•Cardiovascular disease (CVD) kills 480,000 women a year, about 1 per minute.
•One in 3 adult females and males in the United States suffers from a form of CVD.
•CVD claims more lives than the next four most common causes of death combined.
•On average, an American dies of CVD every 35 seconds.
•Coronary heart disease is the No. 1 single killer of women over age 25.
•Sixty-four percent of women who died suddenly of coronary heart disease had no previous symptoms.
•One in 2.6 female deaths are from CVD, compared with one in 30 from breast cancer.

    Now . . . how do you feel? I hope you’ll take this warning to heart, and at least get your heart checked out real soon. Maybe just in time for Valentine’s Day

I was raised Catholic, went to a Catholic, all-girls’ high school, and eventually fell away from it all, believing that it was more important to believe in this world and what it offered than to trust in something so other-worldly. That’s not to say I’m not a spiritual person. I am an American Indian, my grandmother was a full-blooded Iroquois, so a spiritual nature runs through my gene pool. I do believe in God and His message of love and the promise of heaven. But doggone it . . . it would be nice to see some proof, too, wouldn’t it? Especially when I’m having a bad day.

Well, my sister sent me this link tonight, and I finally got my proof. It’s a story on CNN about a 12-year-old prodigy who paints incredibly vivid paintings that she says are inspired by God. She even claims to have met God, Himself. And boy, is He handsome!

Watch it and tell me if you are a believer.