Mi Vida: Mas

My baby girl's birthday

On Sept. 4, 1998 at Mission Hospital, a little girl was born to Jose and Gabriela Caro. Today she will be 10 years old, and she has become a beautiful little girl. From all the people who love this little girl, we wish her a very happy 10th birthday form the Caro, Mora & Elguera families.

WELCOME BACK

After a six months in AFGHANISTAN my brother SAMMY IBARRA returns back to his base in OKLAHOMA CITY. Then after a few weeks in Oklahoma he will be coming home to Bakersfield, CA on Sept. 19 to spend some time with us. My parents are very happy that nothing happened to my older brother while he was overseas in AFGHANISTAN. I'm also happy that he will be here to celebrate my 19th birthday with me and of my younger brother ALEJANDRO IBARRA. He was born on Sept. 22 and I was born on September 21.

WELCOME HOME U.S AIRMAN FIRST CLASS

WE'RE PROUD OF YOU !

MAS Newsletter 9-5

As temperatures begin to drop (and air conditioners get used less), it seems autumn is just around the corner. With a very pleasant Labor Day behind us, we can say "good-bye" to summer and welcome long-sleeve weather and holidays that are sure to be here sooner rather than later!

In this issue of MAS magazine, you can read about:

The blossoming of DAISY

Daisy Sanchez has pursued her passion nearly from birth. Ever since childhood, Daisy has eagerly developed her singing talent by performing whenever an opportunity presented itself. Little did she know where this would take her!

¡Otra canción, Pepe!

Pepe Aguilar recently graced Bakersfield with another performance. Though his ranchera roots run deep, Pepe's musical influence was very eclectic.

Cositas we love

You can get to know presidential candidate Barack Obama en espanol — get to know two sisters of immigrant parents who now serve in Congress together — share your voting voice without saying a word with a T-shirt.

Don't forget!

The Kern County Fair is around the corner, and MÁS magazine will be having a reader contest to giveaway a pair of VIP tickets to see Tower of Power live in concert.

All you have to do is tell us your favorite county fair story in less than 50 words. Or send us your favorite fair photos. We will enter your photos or story in the drawing, from which we will pick winners in September. The deadline is Friday, Sept. 5 — if you hurry you can make it!

You need to submit your fair story or photos by going to: masbakersfield.com and title your article or photos “My Favorite Fair Story.”

Or you can e-mail them to: tadamo@masbakersfield.com

For those who prefer regular mail, send it to:
MÁS Fair Contest, PO Box 2344, Bakersfield, CA. 93303

Community Noticias

Community Meeting

The East Bakersfield Community Collaborative, Stop the Violence and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Kern County will be hosting a Community Engagement from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Sept. 13 at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Kern County, 801 Niles St.
Concerns about crime, youth, parents, community organizations and law enforcement will be addressed at the engagement.
The Boys & Girls Clubs offer programs and services that promote the development of boys and girls in a safe and positive place for kids to grow and learn.
The East Bakersfield Community Collaborative offers people in the neighborhood an opportunity to create relationships with neighbors, local politicians, school personnel, businesses, etc.
Registration is required.
For more information, contact Renee Stancil at (661) 325-3730.

Attention: SENIORS

The president of AARP California, Jeannine English, will speak at a free luncheon for the first AARP Senior Awareness Day, Sept. 30, in Bakersfield. The event will be at the Holiday Inn Select, 801 Truxtun Ave. Information about Proposition 11 — the redistricting reform measure on the November ballot — will be presented. AARP has taken the position that putting redistricting process in the hands of voters, rather than elected officials, would be the first step toward true representative government.

English will detail AARP’s reason for this stance.

A free lunch — scheduled to begin at noon — is included at this meeting, but attendance is limited to 250 people and you must reserve a spot.

Also, local, nonprofit organizations will have vendor booths set up providing more information for seniors.

Workshops will be held prior to lunch at 8, 9, 10 and 11 a.m.

For reservations and to ensure your free lunch, call 1-877-926-8300 and reserve for “Senior Awareness Day, Sept. 30 — Bakersfield.” You must call by Sept. 12.

Delano event

The Delano Cinco de Mayo will host its annual Grito de la Independencia at 5 p.m., Sept. 12 at Delano Memorial Park.

Cositas we love

Book on Barack
During the recent Democratic National Convention, the eyes of the world were fixed on one presidential candidate, Barack Obama.

Obama’s religious faith is both the fuel of all that he has achieved and the source of the greatest challenges in his pursuit of the presidency.

The book is said to be an examination of the candidate’s faith written by best-selling author Stephen Mansfield. “La Fe de Barack Obama” (“The Faith of Barack Obama,” Thomas Nelson Publishers, will be released in a Spanish version by Grupo Nelson, Sept. 8).

Mansfield details the role of religion in the Democratic presidential candidate’s life to date and how religion will play in this year’s election and beyond.

To read a sample chapter, visit: http://issuu.com/gruponelson/docs/lafedeobamacapi1

Sisterly success
Linda and Loretta Sánchez — both California Latinas — made true sibling history when they became the first sisters to serve in Congress together.

As the daughters of two Mexican immigrant parents, the Sánchez sisters came from humble beginnings, but moved on to attain post-graduate degrees and eventually each win an office in politics.

The sisters detail their unique story in their co-written book, “Dream in Color: How the Sánchez Sisters Are Making History in Congress (Hachette Book Group USA 2008).”

Vote in style!
Who says the political process has to be boring? Put some pizazz in your politics and get out there and vote!

No matter who you choose — Democrat, Republican or Independent — make a statement in one of these fashionable T-shirts.

Find these shirts for $22 to $44 each at:
http://www.revolveclothing.com/b/Search.jsp?search=rock+the+vote

SoLuna shines brightly in Vegas dance competition

A Bakersfield folklórico group took a big gamble in Vegas — and it paid off with a big win!

On Aug. 9, SoLuna Ballet of Bakersfield placed second at the Las Vegas National Mexican Folkloric Dance Competition held in the famous Nevada city as they represented the state of California.

The so-called “gamble” the group took centered on their unique music and dance selection, going with a number found in Oaxaca, Mexico rather than the more popular and upbeat dances originating in Chihuahua, Jalisco and Veracruz, according to Manuel Fonseca, general director and co-founder of the SoLuna.

“We went with our hearts and presented our unique dance piece of Oaxaca, which the music was a gift from our Sister City in Queretaro by the famous orchestra, Ixchel, who played at the Fox Theater in 2006,” Fonseca said. “We decided to keep the same dance suite that we won first place last year in the regional competition in Hollywood last year.

“In my mind, SoLuna came in first place with its well-known originality and unique artistic expression!”

And in fact, reviews from audience members — many of which came to support SoLuna at their Vegas contest all the way from Texas, Bakersfield and Mexico — and other dance instructors were all positive, Fonseca said.

Also, the event’s organizers made it a point to let the SoLuna group know how impressed they were with their professional and respectable attitudes and performances, he added.

“All of SoLuna felt a strong sense of pride to represent the best of Kern County in Las Vegas,” Fonseca said. “We had an electrifying performance, as our bodies were filled with emotion! The audience really felt it and enjoyed it.”

SoLuna (Sun & Moon) was founded in 2005 by twin brothers, Manuel and Darío Fonseca.

SoLuna will next perform locally at the Kern County Fair from 4 to 5 p.m., Sept. 20, and 6 to 7 p.m., Sept. 28 as they showcase their folklórico talents at the Villa Festiva area of the fairgrounds.

Magic Realism Non-Fiction 9/11 Story: Part 2

The magic realism had already started. Sugar skull ghosts and sparks of firework lightning bolts. It was September 10, 2001, Las Vegas. I just had a summer of dreams: airplanes, white tunics, exploding casinos. I left my girlfriend that day. I was going to hitchhike to California across the Mojave Desert the next morning, September 11th. Somehow, as the story will say, I got to California. Over the next several months I scribbled “Thick White Crust.” I could barely stay ahead of it as it chased me. I ran down flights of stairs into a university to let it out and then ran back out into the daylight, enveloped once again in drowning literary moments. The story is magic realism non-fiction. It’s a bite of a sugar skull. It’s the moment fireworks burst. It’s whatever you need it to be as you dream while asleep or awake.

B O N I F A C I O The weather was a little windy and the sun was beating its fists onto the desert floor. It was the day before dia de los rascacielos, the name I later heard a man on a bus give for the attacks on the World Trade Center. Read more »

Chapter Two from Thick White Crust posted at TheNervousBreakdown.com. There, you'll find a link to Chapter One as well.

*Please stop by and leave a comment or question. I would love to hear from you.

Preserving the past

In an era of pinching pennies for that extra gallon of gas, it’s hard to think about opening our pocketbooks for charity, no matter how worthy the cause.

Trivani International — a new company that strives to make a difference, not a profit — realized this and developed a way for people to contribute to the good of mankind by spending money they already plan to spend on items they already plan to buy, meaning saving lives around the world can be as easy as switching shampoos.

And now, Trivani International — which has a local founding leader — is selling items to save an entire civilization of Mexican Indians who hold a link to our own past as a people.

A civilization in need
Possible descendants of the Asian immigrants that crossed the Bering Strait 20,000 years ago to become our first ancestors to step foot in the Americas, the Tarahumara Indians of Chihuahua, Mexico have maintained a way of life embedded in ancient custom. But for decades the Tarahumaras have had to flee into the highest peaks of the Sierra Madre Mountains to escape the encroachment of modern day society.

This attempt to preserve their way of life has meant making it even more difficult. Lack of water to grow food has caused decades of hunger, dehydration and malnutrition, dwindling the Tarahumara population to almost 50 percent less than what it was 30 years ago. Add language barriers, low income and lack of education or government assistance and the Tarahumaras’ odds are not in their favor.

Trivani International is making an effort to ensure that the Tarahumaras — considered a link to the past — have a future.

Company with a conscience
A network-marketing company similar to Pampered Chef or Mary Kay, Trivani International sets itself apart with what Marketing Director Lourdes Paepke calls a basic, but huge difference.

“A lot of companies give donations to charitable organizations or they’ll give a percentage of what’s left over after operating costs,” she said. “What makes Trivani International different is that 10 percent of every sale goes to the Trivani Foundation to support sustainable projects around the world that empower communities to become educated, to work and to excel with our assistance.”

Trivani International representatives, like Bakersfield’s own Judy deGraaf, sell personal care products that we all use every day, so the aim is that you buy what you already need.

“We all wash our hair and brush our teeth,” said Paepke. “Why not help someone by buying something we already plan to spend money on?”

Sales from products such as shampoo, toothpaste, lotion and face wash allow the Trivani Foundation to build schools, shelters for women, maternity wards and more worldwide.

In Chihuahua, Trivani is helping the Tarahumaras build wells to water crops and battle unrelenting droughts. The project will be completed using local labor meaning job opportunities for the Tarahumaras, as well as income that will allow many to attend school — something 64 percent of the current population over 15 years old has never done.

How to help
As a Bakersfield representative, deGraaf is just starting out with Trivani and looking for people to host what are called Humanitarian Circles.

"The Humanitarian Circle is a way to get your friends and family together. I tell them about Trivani, I show a video, because there’s never been anything like this before, and then everyone can purchase the products they want.”

For her part, deGraaf is showcasing a special product called Instalast, a powdered wrinkle reducer that upon purchase includes a pottery piece actually handcrafted by the Tarahumaras. The total sale of the Instalast and any additional pottery pieces go toward helping the Tarahumaras, deGraaf said.

Trivani is also gearing up for its “Grand Launch” in October. At this event, Trivani plans to unveil its product lines and provide information about its humanitarian projects and unique business model. The event will be held in Provo, Utah and will be a place for prospective founding representatives to meet the company executives, learn more about the company’s mission, and sample and purchase Trivani’s products.

“I’ve been on a mission to find a way to not only give back, but to pay it forward,” said deGraaf, who will participate in the Grand Launch. “With Trivani you can do both, and feel really good about it”.

— For more information, visit: www.mytrivani.com/judy

— If you are interested in hosting a Humanitarian Circle, you can contact deGraaf directly at (661) 496-6099.

Jacalynn’s journey of love, tragedy

Many knew 17-year-old Jacalynn Faith Hernandez as shy, quiet and caring.

Others saw her as strong and courageous through running track and her tragic battle against Valley Fever during the last two years of her life.

Last Saturday, more than 100 relatives, friends and community gathered to remember a young Latina whose life was cut short by the disease.

But Jacalynn left behind her story that will be told as part of a Valley Fever awareness campaign.

Perhaps her journey with a disease caused by a fungus that lives in the soil will educate others and help find a cure, family members said.

“She was one of the sweetest and quietest of my granddaughters… and caring,” said abuela Mary Stella Aguilar Hernandez. “She was a fighter.”

The little fighter was remembered at her funeral service last Saturday where she lay in a pink-themed decorated coffin with her favorite stuffed monkey, Faith Banandez.

“As a grandmother, you never expect your grandchildren to go before you,” Hernandez said.

The funeral service, held at Valley Bible Church in east Bakersfield, attracted many loved ones and community members who wore pink shirts with Jacalynn’s picture printed on the back and a pin that read, “We fight the fever.”

The 17-year-old died Aug. 1 at UCLA’s Mattel Children’s Hospital after being diagnosed with it more than two years ago.

Her passing, often referred as “a death out of order,” deeply touched the lives of those who knew Jacalynn as a healthy track runner and a happy young girl.

“I’m really sad that this happened to her. It’s sad to see such a beautiful girl go like that,” said Susana Vargas, 37.

Vargas said Jacalynn and her daughters, who are cousins, used to spend the night together.

Jacalynn’s main reason to continue fighting the disease was her love for her parents and her family.

Jacalynn’s father said her ordeal with Valley Fever started right after her first year as a freshman at Bakersfield High School.

He said she was always feeling sick with headaches and vomiting. She then developed a large pimple on her nose that looked like a spider’s bite — a lesion from the disease.

But it wasn’t until she was hospitalized at Kern Medical Center that she learned it was Valley Fever.

Since then, Hernandez said Jacalynn spent in the hospital even two to three months at a time. The last time, however, she was hospitalized in November and stayed there until her recent passing, he said.

“She was told on her 17th birthday that she had less than 10 percent chance to survive, but she pulled it through,” he said. “From Day One, she never gave up fighting.”

Unfortunately, the fungus spread beyond her lungs and attacked her spleen, liver, gallbladder, skin, bones, bloodstream and brain, causing meningitis.

While Valley Fever was not new to her family - several of Jacalynn’s close relatives, including her mother, Michelle Melendez, have also fought it - they had never experienced the fatal form of the disease.

Valley Fever, technically known as Coccidioidomycosis, or “Cocci,” is a fungus that is picked up from the soil. When the spores become wind-borne and are inhaled into the lungs, the infection develops.

Some people may experience flu or cold symptoms. In some cases, it can get more serious with pneumonia-like symptoms requiring medication. Others — about half of the victims — may have it but not feel sick at all.

Jacalynn’s family decided to partner with of Valley Fever Vaccine Project of the Americas to share Jacalynn’s story as part of an awareness campaign.

Sandra Larson, executive president of the group, said Jacalynn’s highly publicized case is making a difference.

Her parents will speak at some events and the awareness campaign featuring Jacalynn will help raise money to develop a vaccine.

An average of 10 to 11 people die from Valley Fever every year in Kern County, Larson said.

“It’s less than the risk of being injured in a car wreck, but if you are injured in a car wreck, you know what happened” Larson said. “If you breath in one of those spores, you may not know what happened and it may remain undiagnosed. And, that’s the danger.”

¡Muy Delicioso!

This great recipe for taco salad is sure to please the whole family with its zesty, crunchy taste and texture. Kids won’t mind eating their salad when it’s topped with ground beef, cheese and tangy vinaigrette dressing. Also try it with grilled chicken.

Ingredients:
• 1/2 lb. ground beef
• 1 tbsp. Goya Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1/4 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. Goya Adobo All-Purpose Seasoning with Pepper
• 1 ripe avocado
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup whole kernel corn
• 3 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 cup Goya Pitted Black Olives, sliced (optional)
• 1/2 head lettuce
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Salad Dressing:
• 1/4 cup Goya Red Wine Vinegar
• 1/2 cup Goya Olive Oil
• 1 tsp. Dijon-style mustard
• 1 tsp. Goya Adobo All-Purpose Seasoning with Pepper
• Garnish: 12 Goya Tortilla Chips, broken into pieces

Directions:
1. In a skillet heat oil on medium. Stir in beef and brown. Pour off excess oil.
2. Stir in onion and cook for 5 minutes until soft. Stir in cumin and adobo cook for 3 minutes. Set aside to cool.
3. Wash, dry and shred lettuce. Peel, seed and dice avocado. Toss avocado with lemon juice to prevent discoloring.
4. In a bowl, combine lettuce, beef mixture, avocado, corn, tomatoes, and cheese.
5. In a blender, combine dressing ingredients and process until smooth. (Or whisk ingredients together in a bowl.) Add to salad just before serving, and garnish with chips.

Serves 4

MÁS Newsletter 8-8

Hola MÁS readers! This week MÁS covers a vivid youth mariachi group, a strong team of volleyball players, and a MÁS blogger. Read on!

Storytelling sounds

The Mariachi Juvenil de Aztlán is a living connection to the vital, enchanting and exciting form of music called mariachi. Later this month they will perform at the Kern County Youth Mariachi Foundation Summer Concert — a fun-filled event de musica y comida open to the community.

MÁS Desportes

The stars of the starlings volleyball team learn life lessons through devotion to sport & each other.

Lost in Translation

A MÁS blogger talks about her introduction to life in the U.S. & learning to master English — eventually leading to a sympathetic position as her young son learns to speak.

Magic Realism Non-Fiction: Thick White Crust - HAUNT

H A U N T “There will be strong memories, my brother,” smiled Bonifacio.

He held his arm around me and hovered there in the room like an archangel. Still dressed as he was while waiting tables at the local bistro, his white waiter’s uniform had big round buttons that dotted a double-breasted waistcoat. His arm was a seraphim wing that held me securely, while his wide, downturned face, as kind as it ever was, hung close to mine. Thick shiny black hair, normally bushy and unkempt, had been trimmed short and wavy against his head.

His full lips parted a little but he said nothing more. And then his image faded.

Yet, he was there.

Dark and olive-skinned, Bonifacio stood next to me, a strangely Arabian-looking Chicano with brown small-set eyes and strong square features. He smiled handsomely even though he had added a few pounds since I last saw him wandering drunk on downtown Bakersfield’s bar alley streets.

It was late April, 2001. We had both seen my mother lying in her funeral casket just the day before. Her eyes had sunk as if two black coals had been placed over them, then lit and burned away to reveal the deep pit of death that hangs above the face of the dead.

Her skeleton no longer danced beneath her skin with movement and life. It was held still by an unseen hand, hung silent and no longer brooded over the passing of things. She had begun death’s dance in the spirit underworld, perhaps even smiled again. Spirit-skeletons smile, move beneath fiery sparks of the living. Ghosts dance among them. Devils and angels too. They sanctify the under-realm of mankind. They flood the spirit darkness. They wave their hands and suddenly there are bright glistening waterfalls of red-lit Roman candle rain falling into infinity.

Later in Bonifacio’s house on Elm Street we ate jalapeños with beef smothered in cabbage, green onions, and green salsa all wrapped in hot flour tortillas.

“Those memories,” I said. “They will haunt me.”

“Your father, I understand. But your mother—she will be no ghost.”

“No? You can’t be sure of that. Like all writers’ dreams, they will haunt like a curse. I am surrounded by visions, Bonifacio.”

“Eat. The food is good, right? Fill yourself up before your crying soul takes too much of you.”

Bonifacio was as good of a cook as he was at waiting tables of wealthy businesswomen, politicians, salesmen and ag-brokers. His delightful method of cooking—as he explained his every move in the kitchen, politely, with fondness for those he served—made him very much like his migrant mother who had recently fallen ill. Her polite smile and command over a kitchen was more than the enduring love of a migrant over pinto beans properly taken from sorrowful fields and cooked to perfection. It was pure Mexican culture driven into the heart of the Southern San Joaquin Valley. The slow transformation of a people, to see, through a meal, through a mountain of refried beans, cooked and mashed from a long night’s soaking, to become washed clean through the love of a migrant mother. I could tell Bonifacio saw himself, like other sons of migrants, transformed into an educated generation of cultural wanderers.

Read The Full Chapter

Stay Tuned For The Next "Thick White Crust" Chapter: BONIFACIO

Tekwiz AKA Popeye Invades Lowrider Nationals 2008!!

I attended the 2008 Lowrider Nationals held at the Kern County Fairgrounds on August 3.

Here are few pictures that I took at the show before my untrusty camera died on me...and yes the spare batteries I grabbed were dead also. So, I got some pictures from the hop before heading to the stage for the entertainers. In other words, no pictures of show cars.

All in all it was a great show, except for the fight that broke out towards the end of the entertainment. That was the only black eye. The few that screw it up for the many.

I am having a problem rotating the pictures to be posted. Feel free to go to my MySpace to look at all of the photos that I took. Here is the link for it: viewmorepics

I know, only 152 pictures. Like I said, my fault with crappy camera and batteries, lol.

Enjoy the pics....

Lost in translation

Have you ever been lost in translation?

If you have, you will probably know how I felt.

Being in a different country where you don’t speak the language can be very difficult to communicate with others.

I’m going to explain to all of you why I was lost in translation for many months.

I was born and raised in Sonora, Mexico, in a small town named Caborca, where everybody knows each other. My grades in high school in Mexico were OK, except for my English class. Those grades were below 45 percent every semester — and I needed to do something about it, quick!

When I turned 17 years old, finishing my first year of high school in Mexico, I made an important decision that changed my entire life. I decided to move to the U.S. to learn English and finish high school. On the other hand, my English instructor in Mexico advised me not to move to the U.S. yet because I had already completed one year of high school and moving to a different country was going to be tough. He said that it was best for me to graduate from high school, and then move to the U.S. He wanted me to be prepared for tough classes and learn basic English in my town.

Here are some of the difficulties that I went through in high school in the U.S.

Basic English: My first year at Highland High School was very difficult. I was lost in translation in every single class because I didn’t know basic English. I had to translate my homework and all my assignments in order to understand, and of course, I spent more time doing homework or studying than any other student. It took me a few months to learn basic English, and then I was able to handle a conversation with friend and instructors.

Meaning of words: I was also paying close attention to conversations that dealt with words that had the same sound, so I wouldn’t get confused with the meaning. For example, just by hearing the word, “rich,” it could mean a wealthy person or food that has a strong flavor. At that time, anybody who said, “This is too rich,” I thought it was expensive and I would always answer, “No, it is not.” There were many other words that confused me, but once I learned more English, the words became easy to relate.

My English instructor was not kidding about saying that it was going to be tough — even though high school was difficult, I did graduate from Highland High school and I have an associate degree from Bakersfield College as a graphic artist.

Ironically, my husband, Michael and I are now lost in translation with our son.

My son Andrew: My gorgeous son, Andrew is 2 years old and he is trying to talk. He sounds so cute.

Words are not clear yet: Some of Andrew’s words are easy to understand, but others are not. For example, he started saying “mik,” which is actually “milk.” The other word that I think is very funny is when I say to him, “No, Andrew — that is not good,” he will look at me and say, “bae boe,” which, for Andrew, means “bad boy.”
Spanglish:

Since our son is learning both languages, my husband is going through a hard time understanding Andrew. He is lost in translation just like I was, because Andrew will say a few words in English but the rest in Spanish, or vice versa, which we call “Spanglish.”

It is funny watching my husband trying to understand my son. Andrew will say to Dad, “Ven,” which means “Come here” or “Brinca, Brinca,” which is “bouncy, bouncy.” Or, “Viste,” which means “Did you see it?”

My husband is now learning Spanish with our son and with me. To be honest with you, he actually has a pretty good accent.

Summary: Even though it was very difficult to learn English, I enjoyed high school.

Being lost in translation with our son is fun and the cutest experience I ever had.

Clincher: I just wanted to leave you with this advice: Don’t listen to anybody telling you what you can’t do. There is no obstacle that can stop you from reaching your goals. Believe in yourself — and go for it!

— Vivana Baker is a MÁS reader who originally posted this story on a blog at: masbakersfield.com

If you have a profile on our Web site, you can tell us your story and respond to Vivana’s blog as well.

If you do not have a profile, get one! It’s easy, just visit: masbakersfield.com and follow the easy steps to set up a profile —then blog away!

Avoiding summer makeup meltdown

Well, summer is officially here in all its sticky glory! I have to say, in my opinion this is the most challenging season of the year.

Think about it: you wake up, shower, make an effort to iron your clothes, style your hair, and of course, apply your makeup. And no sooner than you walk out the door and leave the comfort of your air conditioned house do you realize — this was pointless!

The pants you thought were light and cool are now sticking to you in a wrinkled mess and your hair is not-so-attractively stuck to your melting face of makeup. Don’t you feel pretty?

Yes, it is difficult to maintain an impeccable image when it’s 103 degrees outside, but not impossible!

Here are some quick tips on how to keep your makeup looking cool in these dog days of summer.

How you put on your makeup determines whether or not the makeup will last all day. Here are my secrets to preventing makeup meltdown!

• Wash your face well, moisturize and follow with a foundation primer. This will set your makeup and keep your skin from getting shiny.

• Apply your foundation, but don’t go overboard. Just because you want it to last all day doesn’t mean you have to pack it on. Try using a damp sponge or foundation brush for a nice, even coverage. And don’t forget to apply foundation over the eyes.

• If you currently are not using a concealer, stop reading this! Go out and buy one now! Seriously though, concealer is a girl’s best friend. Put a small amount over your foundation under the eyes and blend with your fingertips so that it stays put.

• Apply your eye shadow as you normally would. Use a dark brown or black pencil to fill in between your upper and lower lash line. Blend the liner with a flat brush dipped in a shadow similar in color to your eyeliner. This will keep your liner from smudging throughout the day. Add a coat of mascara to finish the look.

• Give your cheeks a fresh and natural flush by mixing shades of pink and apricot. Slick on a sheer tint of gloss in a shade that coordinates with your blush.

• Seal the deal with a dusting of matte powder on your T zone and you’re done.
Summer Beauty Survival Kit: What to stock

• Makeup wipes: Love them! They are great to refresh any time and you never know when they will come in handy. I put a few in a Ziploc baggie and toss in my makeup bag.

• Concealer: My ultimate must-have! When I normally touch up, I’ll apply a little at the inner corners of my eye and blend using my fingertips. Concealer also works great to brighten up the T zone. Remember though, you should always use as little product as possible and blend, blend, blend.

• Compact powder: Be gone, shine! In this kinda weather, I like to apply pressed powder with a brush so as to get the sheerest application possible and to avoid weighing down my skin with product overload.

• If you have room, take along a bright apricot blush and your favorite lip gloss.