Gymnastics Equipment For Home

Milady Salonovations' Cosmetology Dictionary

Purchased this cosmetology dictionary for my grandaughter. She had signed up for beauty college and needed to learn all the terms for her course. She is doing great and will graduate in a few more months. This dictionary has helped her get to her goal of graduation.

The Soapmaker's Companion: A Comprehensive Guide with Recipes, Techniques & Know-How (Natural Body S

If you are a beginning soapmaker, there is no other book you should buy. Other books have helpful information; this book, however, compiles all the information you need into one helpful guide. It has frequently asked questions, lists properties of oils, discusses colorants and scents, and explains the chemical process that occurs. If you have never made soap before, it is an incredibly useful guide.

I have read some of the criticisms in the other reviews, and I must disagree with some of them. I did not find most of her recipes to be unduly expensive to make; those that are can easily be avoided by the soapmaker on a budget. Furthermore, I rarely use the recipe section of the book; I use her formulas and the other information she provides to construct my own recipes instead. Also, I disagree that a 10% fat discount (which she typically recommends) is way too much. Some people choose to use a lesser fat discount, and that is fine; for the beginning soapmaker, I think it might be better to provide more of a margin of safety. Once you are more experienced, you can experiment with lowering the fat discount if that's what you prefer.

Really, a beginning soapmaker cannot do better than this book. It compiles all the information you need. Once you are more experienced, you will do well to explore other sources of information (there are some good resources on the Internet, and some other decent soapmaking books as well), but if you are a beginner, Cavitch is definitely the place to start.

I bought this book years ago, when I first started making soap. It has a wealth of good reference information on different oils, colorants, additives, etc., information that I still refer to occasionally. Unfortunately it's usefulness as a guide is somewhat limited by several things:

1) She is biased against the use of any ingredients of animal origin, especially animal fats. No coverage of the use of animal fats in soap is given at all, and her only excuse is lame, not backed up by any actual science, and demonstrably untrue.

2) Her recipes are too large, are overly complicated, and way too superfatted. Plus she recommends the use of GSE, an ingredient whose use as a preservative has been thoroughly discredited.

3) Some of her warnings/cautions are odd, to say the least. Her paranoia of clay, for one, is downright bizarre. Her admonition against pouring raw soap down the drain, in the event of a ruined batch, is utterly nonsensical.

4) The chapter on the chemistry of soap making is too much. She tries to go so in-depth that she's obviously in over her head, to the point that I was embarassed for her when I read it. The information here that would be useful/interesting to soap makers could have been condensed to a couple of pages.

5) She only covers cold process, and then, only cold process where the ingredients are combined at higher temperatures. There's no excuse for only covering the cold process in a "comprehensive" guide, but the fact that she only gives one basic cold process method may be an artifact of the next problem...

6) This book is dated. I started making soap around 2000, and even then people were using stick (aka immersion) blenders to mix their soap. There's no mention of stick blenders at all in this book, and that's a HUGE ommission. There's also no mention of alternative cold process techniques that are very mainstream today; e.g. discount water cold process, and room temperature cold process.

The bottom line is that there are a number of other books on the market that contain much more up-to-date soap making information than this one, not to mention all of the resources available on the internet. This book is still worth checking out, but don't expect it to be what it claims to be.

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This is a great book for beginners, with a lot of neat tips and tricks and some fabulous recipes.

The lack of photos are a definite drawback, but the book does have illustrations, for what it's worth. The author also has some definite bias against certain methods (she doesn't like rebatching, and she doesn't encourage readers to use a freezer to unmold soaps), and it's good to keep an open mind when you read this. But then, Ms. (Mrs.?) Cavitch herself would probably encourage you to try things for yourself rather than just taking her word for it; you get that sense of personality from her writing.

I have found that the batches in this book are VERY big, and I have cut them down myself and found them to take a LOOOOONG time to trace (upwards to an hour or more). I'm not sure if this is just my lack of experience or her recipes; since I use an electric mixer it's not that much of a problem to me, but it would be to someone mixing their soap by hand.

This is an excellent book for beginners who want to learn how to make vegetable-based soaps. I will say, however, that you should be mindful that her recipes are probably more expensive than other books prescribe; after buying the specialized oils (coconut, palm, olive) and essential oils, plus the electric mixer, you will definitely have spent a lot of money. But if making non-animal-fat based soaps is worth it to you, by all means -buy this book.

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Many of the recipes Cavitch gives call for a lot of hard to find and expensive oils, which can discourage new soapmakers.

She also superfats too much, and I also think that can misinform newbies.

Her descriptions of oils and their properties are really helpful, but she doesn't describe using a stick blender at all (only a regular blender).

Good for reference, but definitely should not be used as a soap making bible. I found Kathy Miller's site much more helpful, more informative, and much more realistic for today's soapmaker.

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This book is the staple of so many soapmakers. It covers many aspects of soapmaking. I particularly like the trouble shooting guide, in case I come up with something that looks unfamiliar. I just look it up and find out what I should do with the soap.

I like her recipes too. Her Hempsters Delight is a favorite of my customers.

One point though. As a seasoned soapmaker, you must do your own lye calculations. There are several good lye calculators on the web. There's always a chance for a misprint in a book or anothers recipe. Just type "lye calulator" into a search engine.

This book is the standard Bible to most soapmakers. I refer to my copy often.

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Sex Smart: 501 Reasons to Hold Off on Sex: A Sexuality Resource for Teenagers

I give "True Love Waits" presentations around the country and SexSmart, by Susan Browning Pogany is the sole book I recommend to all teenagers and parents. It is the most accurate and readable abstinence resource I have ever encountered. IF I WERE MADE OF MONEY, THIS BOOK WOULD BE IN THE HANDS OF EVERY TEENAGER IN AMERICA!! Please get it for those you love.

Thank you, Susan!

I LOVE this book. My husband and I are the parents of two teen-aged girls, and we need all the help we can get. We are fighting an uphill battle (in this day of glorification of sex everywhere you look) to protect our daughters from taking unhealthy risks, before they are old enough and mature enough to make good decisions for themselves. It is hard to find resources to support our point of view (that waiting is important) which are readable and interesting for teenagers without being too religious. I'm not against a religious point of view that opposes premarital sex, but there are a lot of books out there that also take a strong stand against homosexuality and masturbation. Well, those books are going to lose most of their teenaged readers right there, and many of their parents as well! I bought and skimmed through three of those, but did not let my children see them, although we are Protestant.

I don't think that this book is going to bother most parents who do believe strongly in a religious point of view. The only people who are likely to be bothered by this book are people who don't think it matters if kids become sexually active at 14, 15, 16, and have multiple partners, or whatever!

Another book I like is "Hooked; New Science on How Casual Sex is Affecting Our Children," by two obstetricians/gynecologists (Dr. McIlhaney and Dr. Bush), available through The Medical Institute for Sexual Health (can find their site easily online), about the effects of sexual behavior on the brain. It also strongly recommends abstinence until a lifetime commitment is made, and is based on scientific research. This book is more for parents, I think, but still very readable, and with quotes from teens.

I would like the school nurses' offices, school counsellors' offices, pediatricians, and churches to keep copies of SexSmart for teenagers to read. We need to create a culture that is healthier for our children!

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I've been looking for resources for my teen-aged daughters on this subject. I ordered four books from Amazon, all with a message of promoting sexual abstinence during the teen years, and this one is great. The other three will get thrown in the trash, now that I have skimmed through them. The others have some good points, but a lot of stuff I can't agree with. This one, in my opinion, even though it is from 1998, is full of facts and good sense.

It is listed currently through an outside seller on Amazon at over $50.00 in paperback, but I just bought it in new condition from Amazon and paid $10.17 for it. The cover lists the price as $14.95. I'm not sure why; maybe it is out of print. Maybe it is available from the library. It is worth getting and reading!

If you are looking for resources for your kids that are not "preachy" or guilt-laden, but that adequately discourage sexual activity in high school, this is a great resource. I wish I had found it sooner, and think it should be available or recommended in school counsellors' offices, school health offices, pediatrics offices, public health clinics, etc. Some churches and religious organizations might have the view that this book doesn't go quite far enough, but those more fundamentalist organizations have their own books and materials, which do not appeal to me, and would likely not appeal to my kids or most kids. This is actually a interesting book that is very readable and practical.

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This book is EXCELLENT! I bought it for my 15 year old son. I wish I had this book as a teen.

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Poorly written, very poorly structured. Conflicting statements on or near the same pages. The whole book can be summed up by "don't have sex" (which is what the book's about)but it is of little realistic value to helping to build any relationship. Lots of references to scientific studies giving various percentages of bad opinons/ memories about sex. Plenty of boy-bashing...I think there was actually blood on one of the pages! Most of the problems she presented could be helped or solved with communication which she has dedicated little of her book to and not surprisingly, it is only on "how to say no". I doubt I will finish this book.

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Real Life Parenting of Kids with Diabetes

If there are only two books you buy for diabetes type 1 management this is one of the two (the other being "Getting a Grip on Diabetes: Quick Tips & Techniques for Kids and Teens)" written by Virgina's sons (Bo and Spike Nasmyth Loy).

These books provide the upbeat message that diabetes should not rule a person's life but be integrated into whatever a person wants to accomplish. There are are uplifting stories, how to be prepared for low blood sugars in all situations, how to communicate with the school, friends, and extremely helpful tips in a clear, concise format.

When my 4 1/2yr old was diagnosed in 2002, I was so scared that the fun part of his life was over. I bought 10 books & decided to read this one first. I was so happy & relieved to read about this great woman's calm approach to her boys diabetes. Both of her boys were diagnosed before 7 & continued on to do great things with their lives. This is a must read, it will relieve some of your worries & give you hope that life does go on & your child WILL be just fine.

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I have read quite a few books on Type I Diabetes since my now-10-year-old son was diagnosed 5 years ago. This book and the one by Ms. Loy's sons, Getting a Grip on Diabetes, are by far the best ones I have read. Helpful information in a readable form with suggestions that are easily incorporated in to anyone's life. This is the book I have shared with friends who have had children diagnosed with diabetes.

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The first exposure I had to the Loy family was when I read the book "Getting a Grip on Diabetes" written by this author's two sons who were both diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when they were six and seven. They mentioned in their book that their mother had also written a book, and I couldn't wait to read about living with diabetes from her perspective. I was not disappointed! Her writing style is so conversational and easy to understand. It was nice to read about how she and her family dealt with different aspects of parenting kids with diabetes. My 13-year-old son was just diagnosed three months ago, so this book helped me to get more comfortable with our new life with diabetes. I thoroughly recommend reading this book.

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This was a great book. My only wish is that I would have found it 2 years ago when my son was diagnosed. This is a book that is written for "normal" families that have been attacked by this stupid disease known as Type 1 diabetes. I will recommend it to anyone I come into contact that has a newly diagnesed child. Thank you for writing this book.

The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy: Over 600 Natural, Non-Toxic and Fragrant Recip

The book is filled with some good information. However, There is no safety data for the oils presented. Some oils are not safe to use during pregnancy, estrogen dependent cancer, or may cause skin irritation or phototoxicity (sunburn). Use caution when trying the recipies in this book or research the oils further.

A disturbing section was the one on pets. I would definately do more research before putting anything on a cat. Cats lick their fur and not all oils can be ingested. Eucalyptus is toxic if taken internally. There have been reports of Tea Tree nearly killing cats. In addition, they recommended adding tansy to a horse's feed to treat worms. Tansy is very toxic to horses and cows. People usually try to remove the plant from their pastures.

Last word. Do your research and don't just use one book.

Valerie Ann Worwood's book "The Complete Book Of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy" is one of the most complete and down-to-earth books on the subject, especially for the beginer. If I were to teach a course on aromatherapy for beginers, this would be one of two main texts I would use, as it is so complete. Here writing style is very clear, easily understood, and enjoyable to read. No dryness here. She begins by discussing ten essntial oils as a "basic care kit," and explains how such oils should be used via an A-Z list of common household occurances. The list includes the following as some topics: -Abdominal pain. -Abraisions. -Black Eye. -Bruises. -Colds. -Fever. -Headache. -Hicups. As a matter of principle, she explains at the very begining of the book that the information contained therein is NOT intended to take the place of a Physician's care. Her chapters on Travel, Sports related injuries, and Beauty (3 chapters covering head to feet!), Maternity and Motherhood, Mens/Women's health (seperate chapters), and Aging are exceptional. She closes with chapters on aromatherapy for animals, and gardening; which I have not seen except in a work by Dr. Gary Young. The charts at the end of the book are indespensable, and complete as a ready quick refrance. Valerie's bibliography contains such authors as Belaiche; Gattefose; Valnet, Duraffourd, Lapraz; and Wells; shows that she is very well read as she is experienced. These authors are the very pioneers of the modern resurgence of aromatherapy, and should be read by all who desire to be serious students of the art and science that is aromatherapy. Those who may wish to criticize her lack of litterary sitations should go and read the works cited here, remembering that Valerie has over 25 years of practical experience as a student and practicioner in a country where aromatherapy is taken seriously, and all they will be left holding is empty litterary critique. Better still, they should utilize her book, and let experience speak for itself! My only sugestion for a revision would be an in-depth chapter on essential oil chemistry, and their interaction with the bodily systems. Otherwise, I consider this book to be amoung the best out there on the subject. It makes a great gift for all occasoins.

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I think this is a good concise book on essential oils (and I have many in both English and Italian, giving the aromatherapy perspective from England, North America, Italy and Germany). However, I caution you all to ignore Wormwood's advice on using essential oils on animals. Wormwood recommends the use of certain oils including tea tree oil, lavender and others on cats all of which are highly toxic to felines. Before buying this book, I had instinctively known to never use any essential oils on my two cats (I think mainly because whenever I would use tea tree oil or lavender on myself, they would avoid me like the plague). But when I saw these same oils highly recommended in Wormwood's book for use on cats, I foolishly thought that if it's in print, it must be true. So, when one of my cats got an abscess on her hip from a cat bite, I tried Wormwood's abscess treatment using tea tree oil (only a couple drops) on her. She frantically tried to get away from me as I tried to apply the drops and then within about 15-20 minutes, started acting very ill. Thank God I had the common sense to stop the treatment, did a search on Google and found out that in fact, tea tree oil as well as a number of other oils that Wormwood recommends are highly toxic to cats their livers cannot process certain oils and become poisons in their systems. I've even read reports of kittens being killed from low dosage applications of tea tree oil. I would say this is a very good reference book for applications on humans but if you care about your pets, do more research on your own to find out the facts about using essential oils on animals. You might just save their life. If it hadn't been for the dangerous misinformation in the pet section, I would have given the book 4 stars.

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"The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy" by Valerie Ann Worwood is a must for every home! I simply love this book. In fact my copy is in great need of replacement from constant use. In 1997 I received a phone call from a man who wanted to know if I could develop a scent that would depict a particular subject to him. Then next thing I knew he was asking me to make some soap for him. A project I always wanted to do, but never ventured into. That led me to learning about soapmaking, which led me to learning about essential oils. Valerie's book was the first one I looked at and purchased along with 2 from Julia Lawless.

Because I knew nothing about essential oils, "The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy" became my mainstay. Eventually, after learning more about essential oils, I ventured into the other books as well. Valerie's book makes learning about essential oils easy. Her book is easy to read, and easy for those like me who knew nothing at all, to learn and understand. This is an excellent book for beginners or those who are advanced in the art of essential oils as well.

"The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy" will have those who like me had absolutely no knowledge of essential oils, using them in a matter of moments! I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning what essential oils are and how to use them. Valerie goes into the usage for home, travel, emergency first aid, and the work place and gives formulas to make your own oils so you can put your newfound knowledge to work.

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This is a great book for starting out or for recipes. As noted it doesn't cover the modes of action (turn to Kurt Schnaubelt or R. B. Tisserand if you want that), but it is an excellent book! It starts off with a basic care "kit" of ten moderately priced essential oils. However if you read the WHOLE (unlike those who claim she uses only ten) book you'll find she covers many others. She covers common medical problems (consult a doctor first, of course), beauty creams and lotions, household uses, garden uses, and food. I would research the pet uses first, she suggests giving tansy to a horse which is a good way to end up with a dead horse. When purchasing essential oils always check the scientific name of the plant from which the oils was extracted--otherwise you may end up with something other than you intended (ie. eucalyptus, eucalyptus lemon and eucalyptus peppermint depending upon whom you purchase them from are all labeled eucalyptus, it is the scientific name that distinguishes them) Overall this is an excellent, excellent book.

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Yoga Games for Children: Fun and Fitness with Postures, Movements and Breath (SmartFun Activity Book

If you are looking for a book to introduce children to yoga asana and yoga theory, this one probably isn't the best choice. The poses are few, and are fairly simple; too simple for elementary children. The strength of the book lies in the group activities and games. The group lessons lean more toward team and trust -building, which would be great in a classroom, church group or camp. As a children's yoga teacher, I was disappointed in the actual yoga content, but I'll keep it as a reference in case I need a filler activity.

As a mother of a preschooler and co-founder of YogAdventureKids, which provides yoga instruction exclusively for children, I found this book an invaluable resource early in my career for inspiring, fun ideas when I was teaching classes to my son and his friends at home in my living room. Teaching different age groups at various levels of experience can be difficult but Yoga Games for Children helped me to take a general outline and taylor it to the needs of each group. Because children develop physically and mentally in stages, it is essential to subdivide class themes according to age appropriateness. The same basic theme can be used to teach a four-year-old as would a twelve-year-old but the approach would be much different. This book addresses that point effectively. It also gives an appropriate time frame for each exercise. If you are a parent who wants to practice at home with your child, there is enough basic information to educate you about various poses and yoga theory in regards to teaching children. There are many books out there that explain how to perform different poses and the theory behind yoga, but what sets this book apart is the organization of theory and asana into whole ideas. It even tackles some difficult issues such as loss and separation. Some games last less than five minutes while others last up to an hour. You have the ability to tweak the classes as you choose, mix and match different games to form your own class, or do one that is completely laid out for you. It even gives recommendations for music to play that corresponds with certain class themes! I recommend this book to anyone who is not familiar with yoga for children it is a great starting point.

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If you are looking for a very serious yoga book, this is not the book for you. It contains very little "yoga theory" or any philosophy, etc. But if you are looking for fun and healthy ways to get your kids using yoga, this book would be very helpful.

Whether you are reading the book as a parent or as an educator, you will get lots of cute ideas on how to integrate yoga with even very young children [3 and up]. There are a whole lot of different activities including yoga poses that are child friendly, breathing awareness, relaxation, visualization, and games to build trust and team work.

I am finding this book very useful in designing a fun exercise class for preschool and younger elementary age children. I would recommend it without reservation.

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I was asked to teach a Kid's Yoga summer program. I wasn't sure where to start and didn't know if I could keep the children's interest. This book was a great resource. If you are a Yoga Teacher and new to teaching kids this book is a must. The kids loved the class and partially due to Yoga Games for Children.

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As a yoga teacher for children, I found the book a tremendous resource. It addressed topics to develop coping skills, including acknowledging grief and anger, and also focused on entertaining activities. The authors used many useful icons in order to specify which activities would be apropos for which age groups, whether the activity would be for small groups, pairs, or individuals, etc. The only concern I experienced while using the icons was the time frames, which were a little "optimistic". It is infinitely difficult to truly keep children focused for the time frames indicated. Overall, the book is definitely worth buying! One will use it over and over again to develop lesson plans and fresh new ideas.

Herbal Remedies for Dummies

I found this book very well written and very well balanced. It is invaluable for the newcomer to herbs, and would be a valuable addition to the bookshelf of a more experienced user too. It's one of those books which sits in my kitchen and gets referred to almost every day.

I own about a dozen books on herbal medicine and I keep finding myself back to this one time and time again. It is well written with a ton of useful information ranging from uses,terminology, cautions, and best ways to use the herbs. A must have for anyone interested in herbal medicine

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I am studying herbal medicine, and this is an excellent refresher for my courses. It would also be a great introduction to all of the basic concepts of herbal medicine for non-scholastic endeavors. Christopher Hobbs is well known in the field, and a highly reliable source.

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I first have to say that I have begun to find the 'for Dummies' label a bit irritating. The first book, 'Computers for Dummies' was a clever idea in that it presented a highly technical subject and presented it in a way non-technical people could understand. Now.... there is a 'for Dummies' book on everything and there is nothing especially 'dummy-ish' about the presentation. These later dummy books, including the present one, are just regular books with a 'for Dummies' in the title.

'Herbal remedies for Dummies' is an overview of various herbs that have traditionally been used therapeutically which then presents tips and techniques for their use. The section on making various types of preparation (tincture, salves, etc) is not bad but there is nothing in the rest of the book to distinguish it from many others. Like far too many books on the subject, the author presents a mish-mash of vague notions drawn from an eclectic variety of sources and makes extravagant claims without qualifying them or even explaining the underlying terminology. For instance, we are told that such and such a herb will clear up 'liver congestion' without actually identifying what this is or how the herb is supposed to address the problem. There is no science here, just vague anecdotal evidence presented somewhat sloppily. In the section which indexes medical conditions and then lists the herbs that are used to treat them, it is suggested that those suffering menstrual cramps can find relief using Kava. In the next section, which indexes herbs and then lists the conditions for which they have a use, we find Kava alright, but then menstrual cramps is not listed underneath. This rather typifies the whole book in my mind.

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I bought this book so I could have a reference for treating myself and my family with all natural herbs. I couldn't have been more pleased with this purchase. It has everything I could ever need in it. I will probably buy other herb books just to have other references but if you are new to herbs this is the book for you. It has everything a beginner could possibly need.

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