Treat Your Feet

From eight to five, Monday through Friday, I'm a medical assistant. One of my favorite ways to help patients is through prevention education. I also like to keep my family and friends healthy by passing along information. Today we're talking about feet!

//1// Pedicure Precautions

You can get an infection from the nail salon, but it can be prevented. Limit your risk by taking your own nail polish and nail file. Salon tools can carry germs, especially the emery board, which cannot be sanitized. The brush in the polish bottle is used on other people's toes and can transfer fungal infections.

//2// Check For Spots

Check your feet for signs of skin cancer. Melanoma of the foot can be deadly. Melanoma that starts on the foot or nail can metastasize to other organs of the body. Check your feet closely including the bottoms, in between your toes, and under your toe nails. Do a check for darks spots and red, scaly, or pearly spots. Look for any dark spots or dark streaks on your toenails.

//3// Foot Odor

When your feet sweat the perspiration mixes with the bacteria living on your socks and shoes. Try a black tea bag in a warm footbath. Soak your feet for 30 minutes to help reduce the bacteria and cut down on the odor.

//4// High Heels

High heels put pressure on the Achilles tendon and could cause the feet, knees, and hips to become overworked. This can lead to posture and balance issues. Also, high heels do not allow your feet to absorb shock probably. To avoid pain and injury, only stand in them for two hours. When you get home, run cold water over your feet and legs for 10-15 minutes to help with any pain. Choose a sturdy pair of wedges if you'll be standing for over 2 hours.

//5// Stress Factures

Runners who pound the pavement day after day aren't the only ones susceptible to stress fractures. Anyone can get a stress fracture. Stress fractures can be caused by any kind of repetitive movement. Stress fracture symptoms can include pain towards the end of activity that subsides with rest, localized swelling, and tenderness of one area of the foot. Treatment also includes resting your foot for 4-6 weeks and wearing hard-soled shoes. An initial x-ray can diagnose a stress fracture and it's severity. A repeat x-ray can show healing.

Take care of your feet! You only get one pair.

What I Did This Weekend

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had an enjoyable Easter and a nice weekend.

But, first thing first.

I am such a huge fan of the show Impractical Jokers on TruTv and the comedy troupe (The Tenderloins) from the show are coming to Grand Rapids! I got my tickets on Friday when they went on sale!

Please tell me someone else watching this amazingly hilarious show.

Nick and I drove about an hour and 20 minutes to his parents house for a low key Easter with them, his oldest brother, and his daughter.

The weather was amazing!

Nick and I also went to the movies this weekend. We saw London Has Fallen. It was nothing ground breaking, but I love Gerard Butler as Mike Banning. He's so bad ass. I really enjoyed it.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Five Things I Found on the Internet This Week

Happy Friday!

//1// Spice Girls Reuniting for Reunion Tour

//2// 30 Financial Rules for Your 30s

//3// Slow Cooker Sweet & Tangy Chicken

//4// JoJo Fletcher Before The Bachelor/Bachelorette: See the Photos!

//5// 13 Country Artists to Watch

The 5 Minute Face

Getting out of the house in the morning looking awake and refreshed and feeling calm can be a major feat. The five minute face is perfect for the gal who's heading off to a day at work, dropping the kids at school, or has a morning mommy-and-me class!

//1// Foundation

Use a few drops of liquid foundation on moisturized skin to help even out your complexion. You can skip the concealer by using your ring finger, and in a press-and-roll motion, dot more foundation on red spots and dark under eye circles.

A Cute Angle's Product Pick: Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer

//2// Eyebrows

Defining your eyebrows help to give your face the illusion of a lift. Sweep your eyebrows up with a brush, and then fill them in. Brush after filling to blend.

A Cute Angle's Product Pick: Younique's Moodstruck Precision Brow Liner and Gel

//3// Eyes

Pick your favorite eyelash curler and black mascara. Curl your top lashes and apply mascara. Touch the wand to your bottom lashes. Placing mascara on your lower eyelashes emphasizes the lash line.

A Cute Angle's Product Pick: Lancôme Hypnose Drama

//4// Lips

Pick a moisturizing lipstick in a rose pink color. This color works with every skin tone.

A Cute Angle's Product Pick: Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Rose Blush

//5// Cheeks

Brush a small amount of a natural pink blush to the apples of your cheeks to give a great finish to your five minute face!

A Cute Angle's Product Pick: Maybelline Fit Me Blush in Medium Coral

Spend one minute on each step and you'll have a flawless face in no time flat!

Netflix Picks

Happy Monday! Nick drove down to Tennessee last week and was away through the weekend so I had a Netflix binge weekend. I love Netflix diversity in original shows and documentaries. Check out my Netflix picks.

A Ballerina's Tale

Iconic ballerina Misty Copeland made history when she became the first African-American woman to be named principal dancer of the legendary American Ballet Theater. Get the incredible, behind-the-scenes story of how she overcame a tumultuous upbringing and near career-ending injuries to become one of the most revered dancers of her generation. More than just a ballet success story, Copeland's journey is a hugely inspirational, universal tale of perseverance.

I was introduced to the world of ballet at age 4 and have been in love with it ever since. I admire Misty Copeland for all she has done for the classical ballet world. Not only has she broken stereotypes as to what a prima ballerina should look like, but she has made ballet more mainstream though her Under Armour campaign.

Happy Valley

The town of State College, the home of Penn State University, has long been known as Happy Valley, and its iconic figure for more than 40 years was Joe Paterno, the head coach of the school's storied football team. His program was lauded for not only its success on the field but also its students' achievements in the classroom. And Paterno took on mythic national stature as "Saint Joe." But then, in November 2011, everything came crashing down. Longtime Assistant Coach Jerry Sandusky was charged with 40 counts of child sex abuse, setting off a firestorm of accusations about who failed to protect the children of Happy Valley. Was Sandusky's abuse an "open secret" in the town? Did Coach Paterno and the Penn State administration value their football program more than the lives of Sandusky's victims? Filmed over the course of the year after Sandusky's arrest as key players in the scandal agreed to share their stories, Happy Valley deconstructs the story we think we know.

This documentary just broke my heart. I was born and bread in Pennsylvania. My dad used to take us to Penn State football games every now and again, and I grew up with a blue and white PSU pompon hanging in my room. As a preteen I aspired to attend Penn State, and many of the kids from my high school actually went. This documentary shows a very sad and confusing time in my home state and at our most famous university.



Fuller House

Fuller House is a spin-off series based on the hit ABC family sitcom Full House (1987-95) created and executive produced by Jeff Franklin for Netflix. DJ Tanner-Fuller is a recently widowed mom to a 13-year-old named Jackson 7-year-old named Max, and a newborn son named Tommy. After realizing she is unable to cope with the demands of holding a full time job as veterinarian and raising three kids, her sister Stephanie and childhood best friend Kimmy, who is also the mother of a 13-year-old daughter, offer to move in to bring up her children.

Full House is my all time favorite show. I have seen every episode and own every season, therefore this was a no brainer pick. I watched the entire season this weekend and loved every corny, heart warming moment of it! Good news - it was renewed for a second season!

Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl follows the lives of privileged teenagers on the upper east side. Serena Van Der Woodsen is a blonde and beautiful socialite, Everyone knows Serena. Blair Waldorf is Serena's best friend but it's always about Serena not Blair. Nate Archibald is Blair's boyfriend but ever since Serena came back from boarding school Nate has been acting strange? Chuck Bass a rich and arrogant person. Daniel Humphrey a loney boy from Brooklyn, NY who nobody knows. Follow the lives of this guilty pleasure show.



My sister talked me in to giving this one a try and it was been seriously addictive and surprisingly entertaining.  I've enjoyed watching the antics of the young and rich in Season 1 and interested to see how the series evolves.

What do you watch on Netflix?

Congratulations to Chelsea from Anchors Aweigh!
She won my giveaway of Emily Maynard's book.
Thanks for entering and for your continued support of A Cute Angle!



Friday Five

Top five from this week. Read 'em and weep.

//1// Cutest. Bachelor fan. EVER.

My four year old niece was allowed to stay up and watch the finale of The Bachelor. I got reports from Pennsylvania that she started crying when JoJo didn't get the final rose. She also asked her mom (my sister-in-law) if daddy (my brother) gave her a rose when he proposed. Heart is officially melted.

//2// Speaking of The Bachelor...

I have never been more excited about the Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise as I am right now. Ben was an awesome Bachelor and he and Lauren are the sweetest couple ever. I'm really excited to watch JoJo as The Bachelorette. I think she will make for a interesting season!

//3// Netflix

I finally got Netflix which means Fuller House marathon this weekend!

//4// Haircut.

I cut all my hair off on Monday after work and it feels magnificent!

//5// The Family.

Best new show of this year. It's really twisted and interesting, and the guy that plays the oldest brother, Danny, is kind of a cutie. What beats that? Also, I stopped watching Scandal because I felt it turned into a huge snooze fest (so sick of Rowan!) so this was a great replacement!

Happy weekend!

Good Reads: I Said Yes: My Story of Heartbreak, Redemption, and True Love by Emily Maynard Johnson

If you've been around the blog the last week or so you know I can't stop talking about this book! I figured this would be a great time to write a review since I'm giving away a copy of the book (!).

Good Read Synopsis:

When her high-profile search for romance led Emily Maynard to dead end after dead end, real love finally found her.

Millions know Emily Maynard Johnson from her unprecedented double appearances on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. Millions also know that neither of the relationships from those shows lasted much longer than a commercial break.

Overcome with embarrassment following her nationally televised failures at romance, Emily finally committed her heart to the only one she knew would never leave her empty and alone. Abandoning her desire to be chosen by men and finding peace in the fact that she was already chosen by God, Emily found the joy she had been looking for in serving God.

In I Said Yes, Emily tells the story of her life before and after reality TV fame, describing the profound new reality she discovered when she forsook fame in favor of the Lord. At the end of a long, fruitless search for a man, this courageous young woman found the truest love of all waiting right in front of her. To that love, Emily said yes.  

My Thoughts:

Emily is best known for trying to find love on camera, appearing in Season 15 of The Bachelor and starring as The Bachelorette on the show’s 8^th season.  Prior to seeking love on reality TV, she lost her fiancé, NASCAR star Ricky Hendrick, in a tragic plane crash when she was just 18 years old. Days after his death she found out she was pregnant with his child, her now 10 year old daughter Ricki. After both of Emily’s TV romances (yup, 2!) ended in failure, she abandoned her desire to have men choose her, and found the joy and love she was seeking in God.  In I Said Yes Emily discusses her life before and after her TV gigs and why she left fame in favor of faith and serving God.

This was such a fun and easy read. Woven into the behinds-the-scenes stories of the Bachelor and Bachelorette Emily's journey of faith and her path to becoming a Christian. I think I enjoy this book the most because I was able to identify with Emily in the sense that she did not commit her life to Christ until she was in her twenties. I identify with someone who felt the calling on her heart for many years, but tried to find peace and love elsewhere. I personally don't feel a connection to Christians who were "saved in the womb" as I like to call it. I feel renewed in faith when I read stories of those who have had life experiences and then found their way. This book came to me at the perfect time.

The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because I wish it was longer!

Enter the giveaway today!

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Monday Madness 3.14.16 + Giveaway

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Don't forget I'm giving away of copy of former Bachelortte Emily Maynard Johnson's book! Enter to win at the end of this post.

Nick and I headed to Ann Arbor this weekend to visit with two of his childhood friends and their wives. There was a lot of eating, hanging out, and board game playing.



From left: little Cal, Jessica, Brett, me, Nick, Mark, and Danica.

Turning the clocks forward this weekend was horrible especially when you don't go to bed until 2am that day.

Ulta's 21 Days of Beauty starts today! I'm excited for 21 days worth of great deals!

Who else is excited for the finale of the Bachelor tonight?!

Will it be JoJo or Lauren? I think it will be Lauren. Looking forward to what looks to be a great ending to the season.  After the Final Rose will be even better!

Enter to win a copy of Emily Maynard Johnson's I Said Yes!
Giveaway ends on Friday, March 18!

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Have a great week!