We don’t want to sound Pollyanna-ish, but this week you’re gonna find one heck of a silver lining to the economic downturn. Retailers are slashing prices to historical lows to stave off an anemic holiday shopping season. That mean’s your shopping dollars just multiplied in value many fold.

Before you get carried away with your new found richness, you should map out a strategy to maximize your spending this Friday. Actually, you don’t have to map anything out. We’ve already done it for you. Here are a few tips for making the most of your holiday shopping (and not go broke).

Scout deals online. Go online to check out the most up-to-date Black Friday deals on websites such as www.black-friday.net, www.theblackfriday.com and www.blackfriday.info. This will save you the time and gas from driving store to store for comparison shopping.
 

Here’s some beauty news we maybe could have done without. The product is called Vavelta and it’s claimed to work better than Botox or any of the other conventional wrinkle eradicating products on the market. So where do the baby foreskins come in? Let’s ask Britain’s Daily Mail:

"Vavelta is a clear liquid in which tiny skin cells, called fibroblasts, are suspended. These are derived from baby foreskins donated by mothers at a hospital in the U.S. after routine circumcision. The mothers and babies are screened before the foreskins...

Click HERE to read more...
 

The months of waiting are over; the film version of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight premieres today. The following for this series of books is downright fanatic, so we predict movie theatres to be mobbed by Twlighters. And did you know the film was mainly filmed right here in southeast Washington? We at Balance are trying to stay clear of the madness, but what about you? Are frothing at the mouth to see this movie? Do you think the Twilight series is the greatest thing ever or just a big yawn?

You can lose weight by overcoming your cravings now. Here are the latest tricks of the trade from researchers and experts.

Avoid Your Triggers:

Some people believe dieting is as simple as eating less of the same favorite foods you always eat. Not so, say many experts. To start new eating habits, you need to establish new eating patterns, at least for now. The old foods you crave will just bring you down. Over time, as you try eating new and different things, your body will begin to crave those new foods.

Destroy Temptation:

If you've succumbed to a craving and bought a box of cookies or some other trigger food and start to feel bad while eating it, destroy it. It’s the same technique smokers use to kick the habit. Take your temptation food and ruin it, run water over it.

for more tips, follow the article HERE.

This is a must see: a choir made up of senior citizens sings rap songs by Eminem, OutKast and Chamillionaire. Hilarious. Click the READ MORE to watch.

Let’s face it, when you’re waking up in the morning there is not a lot going on in your mind except fighting that magnetic pull drawing you back to bed.  As you get ready in the morning you probably don’t put a lot of thought into what you put on your body and face, but you might want to. There is a lot of funky chemicals and waste that go into your daily routine.

Your Face: Fresh and Natural

Even though cosmetics are a 35 billion dollar industry, many of the ingredients that go into your lipsticks and foundation are unregulated. There are certain chemicals that experts say you should always look out for, but an even easier way to protect yourself is to go with cosmetics that are certified organic and natural.

Aluminum Free Deodorants