February's Best Ever You Magazine

Ohhh, we are a tired crew! But, we did it!! Shannon Devine, Mrs International 2010, you grace our cover with beauty, style, elegance and a message!

Thank you to everyone who was involved with producing this issue of the magazine. Thank you to everyone at the American Heart Association for their assistance in putting together the facts and ads in the magazine. Thank you to MedicAlert Foundation!

But a very special thank you to our designers, editors and everyone who came forward to share their stories about heart and stroke awareness. Please share our magazine with others. Together we can raise awareness and save lives. You can click here to read the issue.

All My Best,

Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino, Founder and CEO, Best Ever You

Ines Sainz & Best Ever You Radio/Magazine

Tonight we agreed that Ines Sainz is going to be a radio guest and Magazine cover for Best Ever You. I am blessed by the amazing people in my life who keep making Best Ever You better and better by the moment.

Ines is an amazing female sports reporter, spokesperson and more.

Send us your questions for Ines at http://www.bestevercommunity.com

All My Best,

Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino

Founder and CEO

Behind the Scenes of Best Ever You

Love Diane Hart! Our last radio show we did with Diane had some audio quality problems, so I am hoping this one is more clear. She joins us today at 1pm eastern for a live, one hour show.

Diane is the Editor-in-Chief of Oxygen Magazine and her book, Pick It Kick It is a family treasure at this point.

I wonder what new and interesting things are happening with Diane. We'll be sure to find out!

Listen in: The Best Ever You Show

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We booked several new guests yesterday and last night for the show. Pamela Yellen, Michael James and Ramesh Srinivasan, the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for MedicAlert Foundation. We are also working a few other surprises.

busy.busy. busy.

Our show has thousands of listeners now and we have been featured on Today's Picks on the homepage of BTR quite a few times.

Katie has a meeting today at 1:30, so it looks like I will do the show myself.

Pray for no live coughing. The bronchitis is still not gone...........

Crowns & Causes

I have been in a few pageants in my life time. People have all sorts of opinions they like to voice about pageants. all sorts. really. Some pageants really are so drama they give other ones bad names. I love pageants that have either a scholarship or a cause associated with them. The pageants, such as Miss America, are for younger women and give away millions in scholarship prizes each year. (I have served as a director for Miss America in Maine.)

Pageants for married women, such as me, often have causes associated with them, for example, this year's Mrs International, Shannon Devine, promotes adoption for families and Go Red for the American Heart Association.

I may have won some pageants, but I am not a crown collector. While the crown is what everyone always wants to try on when they visit my home, everyone who knows me well, knows that my crowns always come with a purpose and cause associated with them. It is the purpose that motivates me.

When I was Miss Iowa National Teen-Ager in 1988, for example, I spent a year and then several years that followed speaking to schools and producing an ad campaign for "Think, Don't Drive and Drink".

Fast forward a few thousand years now, and I find myself Mrs Maine International 2011. I will be headed in July to compete for the title of Mrs International in Chicago. I love this pageant and all that it stands for. It is affiliated on the national level with Go Red, but also requires each contestant to have a platform that they live and breathe. Not just something made up for a pageant purpose, but something substantial that has meaning in your life.

This goes far past crown collecting and into the real lives of women. I love this pageant because it is everything my company, Best Ever You stands for and then some.

Since 1998, I have lived with life or death food allergies. I have been resuscitated now a few times and have had many many allergic reactions. I am allergic to all nuts, shellfish and lots of other foods. As a result, I have been a member of MedicAlert Foundation since 1998 and have worked as a spokesperson for their organization since 2006.

MedicAlert isn't just for people with allergies., however. If you or a loved one has a medical condition, it would be an excellent idea to join. My company has joined together with MedicAlert to offer a discount to join. http://www.besteveryou.com/bey/medicalert-foundation

I am also very dedicated to heart and stroke awareness, as many of our family members have died from these issues and my dad is a 6 year stroke survivor. More on this will follow in the next few months.

All My Best,
Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino

Answering Maggie, from Reno, Nevada

I thought I would take some time to answer some of the emails I have received.

Thank you Maggie from Reno, NV for writing to me. In addition to your lovely note, you asked, "Elizabeth, What are your favorite cosmetics and jeans? What kind of cream do you use on your face? You are petite, like me, so which brands of clothes do you buy?"

MAKE-UP

Make-up: I pretty much only use Clinique or Estee Lauder make-up. I have the most sensitive skin in the world and have allergies, so over the years these are the brands I have found that work the best.

Cream: Clinique Anti- Gravity Firming Eye Cream and Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion. I also use Men's Cream called Clinique Maximum Hydrator.

Foundation: Clinique Soft Finish Make-up. Soft Bisque and Soft Vanilla

Mascara: Clinique High Impact

Eye Liner: Maybelline Ultra Liner

Eye Shadow: Estee Lauder (The compact from the Christmas Gift) and Clinique Teddy Bear Trio

Concealer: All About Eyes, although I notice it seems to give me a rash around the corners of my eyes, so I am considering switching back to Cover Girl.

Lip stick: I seldom use lipstick as my lips are very very dark. I always wear Chapstick.

I do not wear lip liner or brow liner. I do not over tweeze my eyebrows.

CLOTHES

As for clothes, I'm afraid I'm not much of a clothes hound. I generally shop around for what fits best and tend to shop at Macy's a lot or maybe a boutique store every so often.

Jeans: I only wear Levis 515 bootcut brand, Silver Flare Jeans, Stone Blue or Hilfiger. I do not care for pants with pockets and snaps on the rear.

Shoes: I wear Saucony tennis shoes and mostly Nine West everything else. I like Flojos Clogs and Santana Boots.

I wear what is comfortable, in-style enough and somewhat polished looking, even if in jeans. I don't leave the house in sweat pants unless I am headed to the gym. Same with tennis shoes.... you won't catch me in them unless I am going for a walk or headed to/from the gym.

Hope this helps. No two people are ever the same, so it is important to find what works for you!!

Thank you again for writing!

Elizabeth

A Healthier Me

Today, after a 10 day stint with bronchitis, I am starting to feel like I am back on the planet.

I feel for anyone prone to this stuff. I am usually not, but I flew home to visit my parents and must have caught a bug. (another thing to blame my parents for - my height (or lack thereof) and now this. They will be so happy)

So anyway. By the way, I say "so anyway" and "by the way" a lot.
So anyway, before I left for Minnesnowtah, I was starting my quest (for about the 20th time) to remove these darn 20 pounds from my body. I love to gain and lose the same 20 pounds. Really annoying.

I have been completely frustrated that I have been sick and unable to really workout or anything and my mind was in position to go-go-go.

So today I feel better and I am go-go-then tuckering out still. So I thought instead of working out, I would focus on my food habits. I'm nixing dairy from my diet for the next 6 months to see if it makes me feel better and helps me lose weight.

Other than that, in my life today I am working with Shea Vaughn and Sara Sullivan to develop our fitness challenge on Best Ever You. I am also working with Emily and Liz on the February Magazine.

We spent a fair shake of the morning cleaning up the house and driving kids to bowling, friends houses and tonight one of our kiddos has baseball.

We also wrote our blog this morning at Best Ever You 365.

Have a Best Ever You Kinda Day!

Elizabeth

I write a lot.

No seriously. I write A LOT! My husband will ask "What are you doing with the napkin?" (Most people blow their nose or wipe their hands.) I'll even write on that.

I'm the Founder and CEO of Best Ever You, which also has its own community at Best Ever Community. (You can write on it too. Create a blog.)

Someone asked me to start a blog about my life. No seriously, they did. (By the way, I can't stand punctuating things, so if I failed to capitalize something and Liz Foley doesn't fix my mess, just ignore it. It slows me down. I'll try. a little.)

I just realized I used the word seriously, twice now. ok three times. (I'm gonna need Liz for this, I can tell....)

Anyway, Best Ever You started in 2008. It started as a very small website and company here in Maine. Now it is a website, radio show, tv spots, print magazine, web magazine, social community and more. Moreso, it has heart behind it and is a labor of love. Nobody working for Best Ever You is asking to be paid. Everyone is contributing. (That is code for- someone- come on and advertise with us in a big way.) Ahhhh, a start-up in year 3.

Really, though, the thinking behind starting this company came from being very frustrated with seeing my dad so ill and the changes our family in Minnesota was going through and not having a great vehicle to deliver and connect with others. Best Ever You is about helping you be your best through all of life's learning curves and navigation points.

My dad's story: Close to My Heart

All My Best,

Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino