Blog Posts by Intent.com

My family is a book family. As far back as I can remember, even before my father began writing books, our house was full of books. Piles and piles of books lying in every corner of the house. My mother was always trying to find space to build bookshelves. As an avid reader myself, I soon got into the habit of collecting books. The love of books has been passed on to my children, and since they were born we have been collecting books. The bookstore, for them, is like going to a toy store.

Recently, as part of my family's effort to tighten up our home finances, we have begun the transition from bookstore to library. And the benefits have been incredibly rewarding! Santa Monica, where I live, has a new, beautiful library. We made a family trip to the new building, got library cards and spent the afternoon looking at the endless books there. Tara, my elder daughter, was so excited to see the variety of books from fiction to biographies to fantasy. They each got two lovely books to read

Your body needs adequate water to form blood, lymph fluid, and bodily secretions, to name a few. Water also helps prevent inflammation-research now shows that inflammation is a precursor to many chronic illnesses. Water helps substances flow in and out of cells by ensuring the correct pressure between the cell and the fluid it is bathed in. It moistens the surfaces of the lungs to allow proper oxygen intake and carbon dioxide expulsion. It helps to eliminate toxins and helps remove wastes from your body. Water en­sures the proper conductivity of electrical messages between brain and nerve cells. That's right, your brain and nervous system communicate via electrical messages. If you think of how lakes or rivers conduct electricity when lightning strikes, you'll have a good idea of water's essential nature in conducting electricity in your body. Water is also required for countless chemical processes in your body, along with regulating your body temperature. Without adequate water, many

In my first article about Nadya Suleman, the Octomom, I received almost nothing but criticism. People commented on my blog and also sent personal emails letting me know that they disagreed with me and did so fiercely. In the days since that post, even more tidbits about Nadya Suleman have been released, and the media is showing the most unflattering, edited clips. But instead of jumping on the bandwagon, I'm happily standing alone. I'm doing to defend Nadya Sulemon a second time.

Here's what I've got to offer this time around.

First, do you really believe that the media is portraying a fair and balanced opinion of Nadya? Have you ever worked in a newsroom or for a tabloid? Do you know how much manipulation is at play in a headline story? Would any of us survive a media frenzy of the scale mounted against Nadya?

Second, what good is our universal condemnation of this woman? Can it help her? Or her children? Can it take away the doctor's decision to implant so many

This weekend I bought a pair of designer jeans - normally $250 - for $25. And, I can't say I am happy about it.

I had been eyeing the jeans for a while, but couldn't justify the expense. $250 just didn't seem right for a pair of jeans...

So, when they were $25, I quickly grabbed them.

From a rack with dozens of jeans, all $25.

From a store that is going out of business.

From a salesperson who was chatting with her fellow worker while I tried on the jeans about dropping her health insurance now that she won't have a job.

Who was thinking about moving back home with her parents.

From a chic avenue where its seems every week a new store is shutting down.

Today, we saw a beautiful house on the market for a great price. A fire sale to avoid a foreclosure. Looks like the people have been living there for years. Its a beautiful home, somewhere where kids probably have great memories. From the photos in the house and the decorated rooms, kids who are still in elementary or junior high

Years ago, it was a family tradition to pass down the secrets to treasured recipes and spend hours in the kitchen teaching children to cook. Somewhere between the addiction to video games and the overactive schedules of parents and children, cooking lessons have been neglected.

Most people know that we need adequate amounts of oxygen, water, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, and good carbs for great health. What they don't realize is that a group of micronutrients, also called phytonutrients, can help prevent disease and restore health and vitality. Phytonutrient- and enzyme-rich foods (I'll discuss enzymes in more detail in my next article) are essential to vibrant health and wellbeing, yet they are almost completely ignored by other diet plans.

There are about 2000 known phytonutrients and many others are being discovered all the time. And, you guessed it, they're found in fruit, vegetables, herbs, spices, nuts, sprouts, and seeds. A single fruit or vegetable may contain more than 100 different types of healing phyto nutrients that basically make up the immune system of the plant. Once eaten, they impart their incredible healing abilities inside your body. The thousands of phytonutrients are categorized into families, including

The recent tragedy between Rihanna and Chris Brown has left many people scratching their heads. How could someone as beautiful as her get into such a relationship? How could he do that to her? Why would she put up with it? Why did she go back to him? Abusive relationships are difficult to explain in a simple article. Their dynamics are complex.

Abusive relationships don't start out that way. Most abusive relationships start out with candy and flowers, courting and romance. The abusive slips in, slowly and maliciously. It may not seem so obvious to the person in the relationship that things are getting out of hand because they have slowly progressed to that point over time. How can you tell if you are in an abusive relationship before someone gets hurt? What are some of the warning signs?

You might be in an abusive relationship if:

1. You're afraid to break up with them
2. You feel tied down, like you have to check-in or account for your whereabouts
3. You feel afraid to

As elements of spring start to peak through, I'm inspired to freshen up my "beauty routine," which has always minimal. Winter has taken its toll on my skin and hair, but enough is enough. It's time to peal back the curtain. Influenced by these 10 beauty essentials totaling $75, I started to think about glow- and shine-inducing products that I already have on-hand and my favorite of the bunch, baking soda.

How can my favorite multi-purpose (beauty) product enhance your grooming routines? Read on. (More than a dusted off Redbook list, these applications for baking soda are a compilation of research, polls and personal use, the last indicated by an *).


WHERE TO BUY? FOR HOW MUCH?

• Baking Soda is ubiquitous. It does not vary by brand nor fall into different price brackets. It's reliable and will always come to the siren call of your beauty needs.
  
• It's available. You can purchase it at supermarkets, bodegas, drug stores and gas station mini-marts.
  
• The