All About Women | Women: September 2009

6:37 AM

Ignorance Is Still Bliss

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: igorance-is-still-bliss, letting go, manifesting inner peace

"To be conscious that you are ignorant of the facts is a great step to knowledge." ~ Benjamin Disraeli

…And not just a step to knowledge, but also to inner peace. I don’t have to know all the answers…and this has made all the difference.

It's time to let go...

Coach Carolyn

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6:08 AM

Perfectionism or Success?

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: completion-matters-more-than-perfection, daily quotes, fear, Kristin Taliaferro, Morning Mantras, perfectionism, perfectionism-or-success

I was always one of those perfectionists. And because I could never be as perfect as I thought I needed to be, I would freeze in my own fear and never complete anything. It wasn’t until my lovely coach Kristin said to me: COMPLETION matters more than perfection.

This was so liberating to me. I now write it in my daily planner every single day. It has become one of my mantras. This meant that I didn’t have to aim for perfection, that I just needed to aim and wherever it hit, it was better than not aiming at all.

One of our lovely BWP members, Renee, wisely shared this quote with the group:

“You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.” ~ Wayne Gretzky

If one of your stories is that you must get it right 100 percent, then it is time to release that story because that’s all it is. It’s just a story and chances are it isn’t even your story. So wherever you picked it up, say “No thank you,” go give it back and try a new story: COMPLETION matters more than perfection.

“Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life. Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism. Confronting your fears and allowing yourself the right to be human can, paradoxically, make yourself a happier and more productive person." ~ Dr. David M. Burns

Sign up for Kristin's Morning Mantras ~ daily quotes delivered to your inbox ~ to give you a dose of oomph to get your day started on a positive note. I have been getting the Morning Mantras for at least three years now and I cannot begin my day without them!

Here's to a successful day!

Coach Carolyn

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7:22 AM

Will the Real YOU Please Stand Up?

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: the real you, will-the-real-you-please-stand-up

"Ultimately, the real you is beyond words. Call it intuition. Call it universal consciousness. Call it life. Call it awareness. Call it God or Being or your Buddha nature. Whatever you call it, this infinitely wise presence waits patiently and peacefully in the recesses of your heart, trying to get through to you. It has always been there, always will be there, shining like a beacon beneath all the social masks, all the musts and shoulds, all the have-to's and not-good-enoughs that have kept you from knowing it.

"The real you is the part of you that speaks in your dreams, wakes you up in the middle of the night with a new idea, nudges you gently in a new direction, and sometimes screams at you when you're about to do something stupid. It is a fountain of truth, the source of anything you could ever want to know. All the wisdom of past, present, and future is contained in the real you. But ah--how to get in touch with it? Now, that is the question!" ~ Brandt Morgan

Will the REAL YOU please stand up?

Coach Carolyn

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3:05 PM

Delegate...On Purpose

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: Delegate-On-Purpose, delegation, online printing, procrastination, PsPrint, small businesses, startups, women of purpose

Most women of purpose are living their passions and doing exactly what they were created to do. This is awesome. The not so awesome part is that they can get blocked and bogged down by some of the mundane tasks. This unfortunately can keep you stuck. One of the biggest procrastination blockers islack of delegation. Small business owners, especially start-ups, must learn to delegate those tasks that must get done but are not so attractive to do. Or, they are just not within your skill set or passion set.

We tend to think that just because it’s my business, I have to do everything! Well, this is just not the case. This is the case where we have to shift from merely passionate to entrepreneur and business owner. One of those places is when we have to do printing. I had a client, who was about to launch her ministry, and asked me to come to the “launch luncheon” to speak. She had lovely packets of information; but she was exhausted having stayed up the night before putting everything together herself. Then she realized, “I should have called you to help me!” Well, duh!

This is one area I delegate. Printing services are so readily available, but I’m not one to schlep to a print shop only to dole out a whole lot of cash. Online printing is the way to go! I call it Web Printing 2.0! Online printing is a lot less expensive without the schlep! PsPrint is one such company that prints everything from business cards to postcards. You can get your printing done in record time – online – and without the hassle. And if you are a start-up, you don’t need anymore hassles.

Remember, delegate whenever possible. It helps alleviate the pain of procrastination. And we artistes just want to create!

Don’t procrastinate, delegate!
Coach Carolyn

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2:50 PM

Pregnant pause? Recession defers motherhood

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: News

More U.S. women plan to delay pregnancy, limit children, survey says

CHICAGO - Worries about the economy have led many American women to think twice about having a baby, a survey released on Wednesday found, with nearly half of those surveyed saying they want to delay pregnancy or limit the number of children they have.

At the same time, many women said they were skimping on birth control, switching to a cheaper method or even going without as a way of saving money, according to the survey by researchers at the not-for-profit Alan Guttmacher Institute, which studies sexual and reproductive health.

"The recession has put many women — including middle-class women who are having trouble making ends meet — in an untenable situation," Dr. Sharon Camp, Guttmacher's president and chief executive, said in a statement.

Avoid pregnancy? Afford contraception?
"They want to avoid unintended pregnancy more than ever, but at the same time are having difficulty affording the out-of-pocket costs of prescription contraception," she said.

The nationally representative sample of nearly 1,000 low and middle-income sexually active women done in July and August found as many as one in four women had put off a visit to the gynecologist in the past year to save money.

And the same number said they were having a harder time paying for birth control than in the past.

Camp said that while delaying a prescription refill or skipping pills may save women money in the short term, it increases the risk of an unintended pregnancy, and possibly an unplanned birth or abortion later on.

by Reuters

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2:36 PM

Obesity, alcohol, depression linked in women

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: News

Ailments create a ‘toxic triangle’ of eating, drinking and overthinking

Alcohol abuse, obesity and depression seem to go hand in hand for many women, according to the first study to look at how the three relate to one another over time in young adults.

Dr. Carolyn A. McCarty of Seattle Children's Research Institute and her colleagues also found that almost half of the men and women in their study suffered from at least one of these problems between the ages of 21 and 30.

"That's big," said McCarty, whose work was published in the latest issue of General Hospital Psychiatry. It's likely only "the tip of the iceberg," she added, because the researchers used fairly stringent definitions of alcohol abuse, depression and obesity in their study.

Followed since 1985
The young men and women in the current study have been followed since 1985, when they were in fifth grade. McCarty and her team looked at data from interviews conducted when the study participants were 24, 27 and 30 years old to understand the interrelationships among depression, obesity and alcohol use disorders.

At age 21, 8 percent of women and 12 percent of men had at least two of the three problems. Over time, having more than one of the problems became more common for women, but less so for men.

For men, the only association the researchers saw was for obese 27-year-olds, who were less likely to be depressed at age 30. But women who were depressed at 27 were more than three times as likely to meet criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence at age 30.

Women who had alcohol use problems at 24 were nearly four times as likely to be obese at 27, while being obese at age 27 more than doubled the risk of depression at 30.

And lower-income individuals of both sexes were at greater risk of depression and obesity.

A tendency to "ruminative coping," in which a person replays and obsesses about negative events-may be one of the traits that links alcohol abuse, obesity and depression, McCarty noted in an interview.

‘Toxic triangle’
Dr. Susan Nolen-Hoeksma, a psychologist at Yale, has referred to the three as a "toxic triangle" of "eating, drinking and overthinking," the researcher added, and has shown that women-and men-who ruminate are more depressed and more likely to drink or to binge eat to cope with emotional problems.

There are interventions that target all three legs of this toxic triangle, McCarty said, including physical exercise, mindfulness training, and stress management. Strategies for treating depression, alcohol use problems, and obesity-all of which are characterized by problems with the brain's "reward system"--also need to help people find alternatives to rewarding themselves with food or alcohol, she added.

"We have to think about how people can start to build in naturally rewarding experiences in their lives," she said.

by Reuters

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2:33 PM

Africa Climate Change Threatens Life and Health of Maasai Women

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: News

Kajiado, Kenya: The Maasai are struggling with frequent water shortages which are threatening their way of life. But one women’s group is taking action.

Day in and day out from the months of March through to June, grey and white clouds float across the blue skies above Kajiado, southern Kenya. But each passing day, the rain they promise frequently fails to show up.

“There’s been practically no rain in the region,” says David Kirrinkai, the assistant chief of Oliteyani, a sub-location of Ngong Hills in Kajiado. “We just receive a few showers, with no means of tapping it for storage.”

The lack of rain has had serious implications for the environmental region as both people and animals are suffering. The Maasai people have to share the land with all kinds of wildlife here. And when water is short in supply, incidents of conflict arise.

The Maasai have lived and coped here for centuries, but the new weather patterns are threatening their way of life. In recent decades, seasonal patterns have become unpredictable and rainfall levels have become lower.

As traditional cattle herders, the Maasai have found themselves leaving their homes for months at a time in search of pastures and water for their animals. In most cases this means vulnerable women, children and the elderly are left behind to fend for themselves in the villages.

Maasai herders dressed in their bright red shuka cloaks, have now become a common feature on the outskirts of the capital, Nairobi, as they search for pastures. Others are dropping out of their pastoral lifestyle altogether and moving to the cities in search of employment.

“The devastation can be too much to bear,” says James Lekurra, a Maasai elder who lost his entire herd to the drought. “Three decades ago, the rains used to come regularly and we had little stress. But now the atmosphere has changed. We are no longer sure that the rains will come as we expect.”

The recurrence of droughts in East Africa is a natural calamity that is delivering a serious blow to the region. Scientists blame the massive clearance of forests as well as the emission of carbon gasses into the atmosphere as a cause of the droughts.

Women in particular face the challenge of fetching the scarce water for the household’s use. In some cases they are forced to walk for over ten kilometers in search of water. When droughts worsen and springs dry up, some are forced to return home empty-handed.

Nevertheless, in the face of the crisis, some Maasai people have devised measures to lessen the impact of the droughts. The women of Kajiado, for instance, have taken the lead by constructing cement water tanks for their households. They collect rain water from their iron-sheet roofed houses and store it in the tanks.

The project is being spearheaded by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Regional Land Management Unit of the World Agro-forestry Centre. The organisations are providing equipment and training for the women.

To date, over 200 tanks have been constructed under the initiative. The women are also involved in digging mini reservoirs or ‘earth-pans’ to collect run-off water from sloping land. This in turn is used for irrigation purposes to water their crop and vegetable fields.

The women of Kajiado have also begun a tree-planting project to encourage the Maasai to adopt a more settled communal way of life as arable farmers. It makes it compulsory for every household to plant at least a hundred trees.

“It’s time to determine our own destiny. I am anticipating cooler weather. We are fed up with scorching temperatures and spending entire days searching for water,” says Luise Mwoiko, chair of the Mataanobo Women’s Group.

The women’s initiative cooperates to construct water tanks from one homestead to another. And they are proud of their work, as Mwoiko makes clear. “We never bother our men to climb up the tanks and make the final touches. We do it ourselves,” says Mwoiko as she adds that the women’s husbands assist financially in the projects.

Another member, Jerusha Lasoi, said their projects will ensure that the Maasai will no longer require food aid from outside their community. Pointing to her secure reservoir of water, a milk cow and thriving business in vegetable sales, Lasoi felt confident in their future.

There is however debate as to whether the Maasai should still keep large herds of livestock in the face of scarce pastures and water. Agnes Kiner who leads another women’s group thinks not, saying, “It would be wise for the Maasai community to abandon the system of keeping unmanageable herds of livestock and proposing instead to keep one or two dairy cows and goats.”

Such a move would attract stiff resistance from most traditionalist Maasai tribesman as Kirrinkai attests: “Nature is dictating us. There is no water or pastures. People are getting land title deeds. No one is willing to let grazing take place in his territory due to scarce resources”. These factors are driving the Maasai from their culture, he adds, and Kirrinkai wants to see more rain-water harvesting and more trees planted to help to mitigate the droughts.

Proposals and debates about the best approach to soften the impact of the drought will likely rage on for some time. But for many Maasai people now, the challenge appears to be a question of striking a balance between coping with a changing climate and retaining traditional norms and values.

by Ebby Nanzala Wamatsi

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4:54 AM

Friday's Purposeful Question

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: being stuck, Friday's-Purposeful-Question

“Your life is right now! It's not later! It's not in that time of retirement. It's not when the lover gets here. It's not when you've moved into the new house. It's not when you get the better job. Your life is right now. It will always be right now. You might as well decide to start enjoying your life right now, because it's not ever going to get better than right now – until it gets better right now!” ~ Abraham-Hicks

Stop…take a breath…ask:

“Are you more scared to stay stuck or to do the work to get unstuck?”

Live right now!

Coach Carolyn

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6:00 AM

Becoming Aware...

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: awareness, Becoming-Aware, Don Miguel Ruiz, The Mastery of Love

“Once we have awareness, we have a choice. If we could have that awareness all the time, we could change our routines, change our reactions, and change our entire life. Once we have the awareness, we recover free will. When we recover free will, in any moment, we can choose to remember who we are.

“Becoming aware is about being responsible for your life. You are not responsible for what is happening in the world. You are responsible for yourself.

“The real mission you have in life is to make yourself happy, and in order to be happy, you have to look at what you believe, the way you judge yourself, the way you victimize yourself.”

From The Mastery of Love by Don Miguel Ruiz

It's all about awareness...
Coach Carolyn

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4:53 AM

Thinking Into Peace

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: be do have questions, manifesting inner peace, Thinking-Into-Peace

Marcus Aurelius from Meditations once said, “Your mind will be like its habitual thoughts; for the soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.”

Thoughts become things. So if you are not loving what you see happening in your life, you need to change your thinking. The best way to do this is: get around "nutritious people" and learn to ask empowering questions. The questions we ask ourselves (or are willing to ask ourselves) are the key to transformation.

Remember the BE, DO HAVE Questions:

Who am I?

What am I here to do?

What do I desire?

If you want to give yourself a true gift, then ask these questions and wait for the answers.

Live the questions,

Coach Carolyn

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4:48 AM

The Fear of Procrastination

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: fear, procrastination, wikipedia

When we look at the unrealistic fears in our lives, one of the major indicators is procrastination. Wikipedia defines procrastination as “a behavior which is characterized by the deferment of actions or tasks to a later time.”

At a workshop I attended sometime back, the majority of the participants cited procrastination as the main cause of not beginning a task, a dream or a desire. They knew exactly what to do, but the problem came in the actual doing. I must admit to having this particular syndrome many times in my life. It became so detrimental to my life that I had to discover what was going on. Then came the awareness. I looked at the things I did quite easily without delay. What was the difference?

It wasn’t passion. I am passionate about writing, yet for a long time I would put off writing these blog posts.

I looked at the reasons why I had to do the thing that I procrastinated on. Was it something that I had to or should do, or something that I wanted to do? I did not have to write these blog posts; but I definitely wanted to. It took a shift in mindset, then the means to blog daily came so easily and effortlessly.

If procrastination is plaguing you, look at the reasons why you are doing the thing you keep putting off. Is it because you want to or because you think you should do it? Remember, stop “shoulding” over yourself. And if it is a task that you must do to move to another level, then reframe why you are doing it. Say to yourself, “I get to do _____, which will move me closer to ______!”

It’s all about awareness and making conscious choices. This is your life and you only get one; but if you work it right, one is all you need!

“Procrastination is not the cause of our problems with accomplishing tasks; it is an attempt to resolve a variety of underlying issues, includ¬ing low self-esteem, perfec¬tionism, fear of failure and of success, indecisiveness, an imbalance between work and play, ineffective goal-setting, and negative concepts about work and yourself.” ~ Dr. Neil Fiore, The NOW Habit

Coach Carolyn

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4:32 AM

Choose to Be Happy

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: happiness, Happy For No Reason, Marci Shimoff

"Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don't wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it's at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored." ~ Earl Nightingale

In her book, Happy For No Reason, Marci Shimoff asks, “What would our lives be like if we could all be happy no matter what?”

And Aristotle said, “Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”

The choice is yours: you can choose to be happy or unhappy. In the end, it takes the same amount of work. But the results in your life will be very different.

"We have a right to choose our attitude." ~ Viktor Frankl

Choose to be happy... just because!

Coach Carolyn

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7:17 AM

Friday's Purposeful Question

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: Friday's-Purposeful-Question

“Your soul will always call the answer to you when you are ready for it.”

How do you say NO?

“You can tell a woman is clever by her answers. You can tell she is wise by her questions.”

Live the questions,

Coach Carolyn

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4:36 AM

Honor Your Agreements

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: Don Miguel Ruiz, don't make assumptions, Honor-Your-Agreements, resistance, stopping, suffering, The Four Agreements

"What you resist, persists..."

Make an agreement to "Don't Make Assumptions," and honor your agreement. When you are assuming, you are living in judgment. Instead of assuming and judging, simply ask a question. We make assumptions because we don't know the answer. What do we do if we don't know something? WE ASK!

Where did we lose that? Asking questions is one of the biggest keys to success. Again, we assume that someone will think we are stupid or not in the know. Well, who in the hell cares if you are not in the know? Someone who won't care anyway, and who may not know themselves? Stop worrying about what other people think of you. Because truthfully, what other people think of you is none of your business.

Suffering and struggling comes from resisting and not accepting what is. We cannot change what has happened, but we can change how we react and show up to what has happened. To help us make better choices, we must ask better questions.

Stop struggling. Stop resisting what is. Stop making assumptions. JUST STOP! Remember, stopping is a spiritual action.

Coach Carolyn

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10:28 AM

Is Peace Your Vibrational Essence?

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: Abraham-Hicks, Is-Peace-Your-Vibrational-Essence, manifesting inner peace, thinking, vibrational essence

“Seek peace. When you have peace within, real peace with others will be possible." ~Thich Nhat Hanh

"My Every Thought Is Attracting Its Vibrational Essence... Whether you are thinking about wanted things or unwanted things, you are still sending out a “request” to attract more things like the subject of your thought. And all things that happen to you - all people, things, experiences, situations that come to you - come in response to your Vibrational invitation.

Noticing how things are turning out for you is one very clear way of understanding which Vibrational requests you are emanating, because you always get the essence of what you are thinking about, whether you want it or not." ~ Abraham-Hicks

“Better than a thousand useless words is one word that gives peace.” ~ Buddha

Think about what you think about,

Coach Carolyn

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4:17 PM

Michelle Obama Rocks the Toy Watch!

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: Michelle Obama, Michelle-Obama-Rocks-the-Toy Watch, Oprah, Toywatch

One of my affirmations is “Time is an illusion; time is mine.” Don’t you love it? And those of you who know me, know I don’t wear a watch. That’s just because the last one broke and I was too lazy to go and get another one. Besides, I only wear men’s watches because of the bigger face and numbers. Yes, sister plays trombone with the fine print! However, I have seen women rockin’ these big plastic watches and wondered, “Humm, nice. Bold!”

Now I am not much of a fashion follower or a trendsetter – except I follow my own trends, thank you very much! But the latest thing is the Toy watch – those big plastic, colorful jobs that even our Miss Oprah named as one of her favorite things. Even our very stylish First Lady, Michelle Obama, rocks her Toy watch! Go figure! She made an appearance on the Tonight Show wearing J. Crew, which sparked a shopping frenzy at their stores and has been seen out in public sporting a toywatch. She admits that she shops online and seems to have a fashion following with whatever she wears. Don’t you love a Divine Diva?

I love butterflies, so of course there is one with a butterfly! Hummmm. Italian designer Marco Mavilla is the reason behind this new Hollywood obsession. The oversized, large watch faces and the lightweight of the plastic are what make Toy watch the new “must have!” The Toy watch will most likely be a big fashion hit this season into Christmas.

We care so much about time in our society yet we don’t rock it well. I mean, come on ladies! It’s time to sing, “Time is Mine!”

Rock it, ladies!

Coach Carolyn

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4:33 AM

Being Positive During Times of Pain

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: Being-positive-during-times-of-pain, Blog Talk Radio, HopeKeepers Sunroom, National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week, Rest Ministries

National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week, September 14 – 20, 2009, is a worldwide effort to bring together people who live with invisible chronic illness and those who love them. Nearly 1 in 2 people in the USA live with a chronic illness and about 96% of these illnesses are invisible.

It is a challenge to stay positive, peaceful and out of the fear when living with a chronic illness. Constant pain can keep you in a very negative and lonely space. Several of the ways I deal with my illness is with meditation, prayer and support. One of my support systems is Rest Ministries and the HopeKeepers Sunroom Community.

Founded by Lisa Copen in 1996, Rest Ministries is a Christian organization that exists to serve people who live with chronic illness or pain, and their families, by providing spiritual, emotional, relational, and practical support through a variety of programs and resources.

A few tips to stay positive:

Set clear boundaries with those around you. Let your NO mean NO and your YES mean YES. Remember, you teach people how to treat you. People will learn to take you seriously when you get serious.

Take a time out when needed. Ladies, I always say the easiest thing to do is to excuse yourself and head to the ladies room. It’s the best and safest time out there is.

Find support for the journey; find a nutritious person to be a sounding board or simply a shoulder to lean on. There is nothing weak in needing and asking for help; especially in times of pain and discomfort. Reach out and call someone.

Rest Ministries organizes a 5-day free virtual conference with 20 seminars that can be attended online from your computer. Seminars are on a variety of topics including marriage, parenting, starting a business, how to apply for disability and more—all when you live with a chronic illness. Kick off is the morning of Monday the 14th at 9 a.m. Pacific Time. Go to Blog Talk Radio and turn up your speakers!

May the Lord give you peace,
Coach Carolyn

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7:24 AM

LAUGH this Weekend!

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: Laugh-this-weekend, YouTube

Instead of the usual purposeful question for Friday, I thought I would share this video.

If ever you are in a crappy mood, watch this video. You won't be in a crappy mood for long. Enjoy!

~ Coach Carolyn

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2:38 PM

Be Impeccable With Your Word

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: be impeccable with your word, Don Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements

"Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust and hostility to evaporate." ~ Albert Schweitzer

One way to use your word is with kindness. It costs nothing to be kind. It can cost you everything when you say something you will later regret.

Always remember the First Agreement: Be Impeccable With Your Word. Life will be much sweeter.

~ Coach Carolyn

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12:41 PM

Privacy Policy

Posted by Doncrack |

Privacy Policy for www.allwomenzone.blogspot.com

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12:17 PM

Life Through Rose-er-Daffodil-Colored Lenses

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: Writer Mom

I was working diligently one day in our family room while my then 3-year-old twins were building towers with their Duplos blocks. I had promised to take them into the back yard as soon as I finished a particular section in a lengthy article I was working on.

Then I began hearing the ripping sound of Venetian blinds opening and closing, like a zipper, up and down. I told the boys to be patient, that we would be going outside soon.

After about the third time of telling the twins to please leave the blinds alone, my child’s comment stopped me in my track.

“Mommy!” Mickael-Josef exclaimed in his sweet little 3-year-old, high-pitched voice, “Look, look, the ‘schoene Blumen’. Look, they’re blooming. Look!” (which is kid German mixed with English, for “Look, Look, the pretty flowers are blooming!”)

Forgetting that I was getting irritated about the Venetian blinds, I stopped my writing to turn around to look outside.

Golden, bright yellow daffodils shone like brilliant crowns outside my window on our hill near the creek. Right next to my desk and I had missed them.

Now, I knew that the daffodils were up and budding and all that. But I had been very busy the past few days with work, and, even though the weather had been so spring like, my mind was focused not on flowers but on deadlines.

I had always wanted my own Daffodil Hill. When I was growing up in Corvallis, my friend’s mom used to take us in early spring to the outskirts of town to this hill covered with a blanket of golden King Alfred’s. We called it Daffodil Hill. I have pictures of Jeanie, Julie, Jennifer and me holding bouquets of daffodils and wearing big smiles, while a sea of the bright yellows graced the background.

And here a few decades later, it struck me that I was missing my very own daffodil hill in my very own yard.

I stopped my work, got my twins’ shoes on and told the boys that we are going outside to see the Schone Blumen, the daffodils. And those King Alfreds are stunning. My child had not only noticed that the daffodils are blooming, but that they are pretty. Life through the eyes of a child is sweetness.

We looked around the yard for signs of other flowers coming up, and then picked a bouquet of bright yellow daffodils to light up our dining room.

A few days after the daffodil episode, my 3-year-olds again raised their usual excited voices to tell me of something else I had missed this spring.

“Mommy, it’s a nest, way up high, in the tree,” they managed. Then Wesley dashed over to the refrigerator, explaining as he opened it his intention: “I need to get eggs to put into the nest.”

I smiled and explained to him that the birds would be laying their own eggs, then asked the twins to show me the nest in the tree. And sure enough, nestled up high in our tree by our deck, was a bird’s nest.

I don’t know how long that nest had been there or for how long the daffodils had been in their full glory, but these spring symbols that my little ones pointed out to me sure made me ask myself which lenses I was looking at life through. I had to ask myself which prescription my glasses were in.

Was I seeing life only through the tyranny of the urgent lenses? The lenses that make me rush through life, seeing only the work that needs to be done, and missing the beauty around me? Was I not seeing the little things in life because I was so lost in my busy schedule? Was I not taking the time to smell the proverbial roses?

I thought about children. When they want you to read them a book at a certain moment. Or when they sit down and begin telling you about happenings at school. Or when they want to shoot hoops with you on a sunny afternoon. Or when the littlest ones want to wrestle and be silly with you. Or when they want to sit on your lap and be held. It’s a moment. Just like the daffodils in full bloom. Blink and they’re drooping their heads.

It is sometimes only a moment. And I’m realizing that the moment is short and fleeting. The moment passes. Their sweet little voices and half sentences turn into adult-like conversations. They get busy with their friends. They change their interests.

And scenery changes as well. Daffodil Hill in Corvallis is now a concreted subdivision with large clone houses and narrow yards.

Children are like the daffodils. They won’t wait till you are ready to make time for them. They arrive in their own time. Children and daffodils and nests do not follow anyone’s schedule or timeline or deadline – they beat to their own drummer.

We just have to make sure we don’t miss them, before they fade away and are changed -- or gone. By : Cornelia Seigneur

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12:15 PM

How Natural Progesterone Can Relieve The Symptoms Of The Menopause

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: Women's Interests

If you are considering using progesterone to relieve the symptoms of menopause then it is very worthwhile to consider natural progesterone products over the chemical based or altered progesterone products.

progesterone in women is produced by the ovaries so when a women begins to go through menopause in mid life, it is only natural that her levels of progesterone will decrease due to the so called "shutting down" of the ovaries and reproductive system.

It is believed that progesterone can have a regulatory effect on the body therefore the belief that progesterone should be topped up in the body is becoming more and more widespread. This applies to both males and females, although this article will focus on progesterone for women going through menopause.

Menopause is when menstruation no longer occurs in a woman. Estrogen production drops to significantly low levels and menstruation marks the end of a woman’s ability to reproduce.

Unfortunately menopause also brings with it some side effects due to the drop in the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone. Most women hit menopause at around 50 to 55 years of age although it can occur earlier.

Menopausal symptoms can include:

Hot flushes
Headaches
Moodiness
Vaginal irritation
Dry skin
Bladder issues
Irritability
Depression
Tiredness

Natural progesterone cream like NatPro provides an all natural supplement for women. The aim of natural progesterone is to reduce or eliminate symptoms of menopause such as hot flushes and vaginal irritation amongst others listed above. Whilst progesterone supplementation will not being a women back into a reproductive cycle (this is impossible), natural progesterone aims to make life easier by minimizing the irritating and often debilitating symptoms of menopause.

NatPro is the leading natural progesterone cream. It does not contain any toxic substances. There are no growth hormones and no unnatural ingredients. This means there is no risk and no side effects.

Natpro only contains only vegetable substances, no animal substances. It is important to know that many drug companies use animals in cruel testing procedures in laboratories. On the other hand, NatPro has never and will never cause suffering to any animal in the manufacture or use of NatPro organic natural progesterone cream.

If a woman becomes estrogen dominant (where there is excessive estrogen but little or no progesterone to balance it out), a variety of health problems can occur such as endometriosis, uterine fibroids, weight gain, increased blood clotting, thyroid dysfunction and cancer. This is because there is too much estrogen and not enough progesterone.

For this reason it is vital to balance the estrogen out with an optimal level of natural progesterone. This can be achieved through the use of NatPro, a highly effective and widely recommended organic natural progesterone cream

Researchers are constantly linking many forms of cancer to estrogen dominance, so it is obvious that this needs to be balanced out with progesterone.

Natural progesterone cream is the easiest and least invasive method of bring your progesterone levels up to avoid becoming estrogen dominant. By : Jean Morgan

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12:12 PM

10 Reasons to Camp in New Jersey

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: Travel and Leisure

Camping in New Jersey is literally the best of all worlds. There is just about nothing you cannot do while you camp in New Jersey. You have your choice of over 120 campgrounds and State Park facilities to choose from not to mention thousands of acres of public land to explore.

Just about every one of the privates campgrounds in the state have craft activities, pools, fishing ponds, sports activities and so many other amenities I can't even count. Most of them are clean, modern and well suited to just about any type of camping. They are all within a decent driving distance of dozens of cultural, sports, historical, recreational and children related attractions.

Having said that let me give you the all time Top 10 Reasons to camp in New Jersey:

1. Atlantic City and its world-famous beach and boardwalk, luxurious casino, non-stop gaming action, the hottest entertainers, the best in dining, and quality sporting events.

2. Revel in bay heritage along a scenic waterfront in Somers Point or visit the landmark mansion of original harbormaster Richard Somers, the oldest home in all of Atlantic County, it remains a museum today. Marvel at the world's only 63-foot pachyderm with a visit to Lucy the Margate Elephant. Or have your children experience their favorite nursery rhythm characters in life size at Storybook Land.

3. There's the 760,000-gallon open-ocean tank at the New Jersey Academy for Aquatic Sciences At Adventure Aquarium in Camden, just one of the fascinating exhibits depicting sea life from around the state. Or Trenton, the nations second-largest state capital in continuous use and the site of one of George Washington's greatest Revolutionary victories. Today, you can visit the spot where he crossed the Delaware and tour the Old Barracks, used by soldiers in the French and Indian War. Or, stroll through the New Jersey State Museum and its impressive art galleries.

4. The Delaware Region is home to most of New Jersey's Pine Barrens, a million acres of preserved forests and waterways. It is, in fact, the largest wilderness area east of the Mississippi.

5. Visit Thomas A. Edison's home and laboratories, where you will see some of his greatest inventions. Stop by a museum solely dedicated to the history of flight. Known as one of the cultural capitals of the United States, the Gateway Region is the home of people from all over the world, whose cultures mingle to produce a rich fabric of life. Here, you'll find theater, dance and the best in classical music. Included is New Jersey's state theater, the Paper Mill Playhouse.

6. Diversity characterizes the many playtime activities you'll find in the Gateway Region, plus being just minutes away from New York City. It houses the Meadowland Complex with its colorful tapestry of sports and entertainment. Restaurants of all types for all tastes, extensive shopping centers with the best of everything, and activities for children of all ages round out a vivid, exciting region. This is truly a gateway to many vacation alternatives. That's why when people experience all the Gateway has to offer they keep coming back again and again.

7. Mention the Shore Region, and certain images immediately pop into your head: over 60 miles of pristine beaches from Sandy Hook to Holgate; surf fishing off Seaside Park; perhaps some bodysurfing off Bay Head; or maybe a moonlit walk in Surf City.

8. On the northern fringe of the Gateway National Recreation Area at Sandy Hook stands the nation's oldest operating beacon, the Sandy Hook Lighthouse. Several miles to the south are the Twin Lights of Navesink, the site of Marconi's first ship-to-shore broadcast. Further south is Barnegat Light; affectionately know locally as "Old Barney," built by Civil War hero George Gordon Meade in 1857. And now the newly reconstructed Tuckers Island Lighthouse in the Tuckerton Seaport.

9. Gentle mountains, Skiing, Rock climbing, and Horseback riding. Can you really do all this stuff in New Jersey? Yes you can - and more can be found less than an hour's drive from New York City. The opportunities of the Skylands Region have always been one of New Jersey Camping's best-kept secrets.

10. If its amusement park that make you happy, check out Mountain Creek in Vernon. Somewhat more genteel diversions can be found during the region's numerous winery festivals or at the Sussex Farm and Horse Show in August.

11. Walk along 30 miles of wide sandy beaches, experience the warmth of a Victorian inn, take a stroll through history and enjoy the fresh bounty of the sea at a gourmet restaurant.

12. All along the ocean, the beachfront towns of the Southern Shore Region offer great fishing, boating, beaches and whale-watching cruises, plus fine restaurants and accommodations - not to mention the wonderful campgrounds in the area, to pitch your tent or set up your RV. Cape May County boasts itself as one of the premium camping areas of the country. It all adds up to marvelous fun.

Okay, so I lied.

I couldn't stop at 10 things, I had to give you 12!

In this article I just barely scratched the surface of what New Jersey has to offer and it can all be done from the back of your RV or the middle of your tent! By : Eric Stephenson

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12:10 PM

Sexy Ways To Fill Out A Bra

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: Sexuality and Feminity

So you have that gorgeous dress that demands a deep cleavage. Problem is, you are somewhat challenged in the boobs department. So what do you do?

In the movie, One Night At Mc Cool's Liv Tyler had a very sexy, cleavage revealing scene where she washes a car with her body. She needed plenty of cleavage to get that scene to work, so the resourceful girl put her shoulder pads in her bra to get that effect.

You see, you don't need plastic surgery for cleavage. Sometimes, a little resourcefulness is all you need.

Another trick a fashion stylist demonstrated on TV, when a shoot required more cleavage than the model had to offer. To get that cleavage, stuff the bra with tissue paper. Need more cleavage, just stuff in more tissue paper. Use the whole roll if you have to.

Ok, so it can get messy. Tissue paper is fine for photo shoots, but what about real life?

Shoulder pads work. Better yet, slip in a pair of bra enhancers into your bra to fake it. Or just get a padded bra to save all that trouble.

Use your common sense though. If you are going to the beach, don't stuff tissue paper into your bikini top. It gets soggy and messy when wet. If you are afraid bra enhancers might just slip out at the most embarassing moments, then wear a padded swimsuit. Alternatively, you could try herbal breast enhancement pills. These need to be taken faithfully for 3 to 6 months to see significant increase in breast size, but they are worth a try.

So you see, there are ways of getting that cleavage without resorting to going under the knife. By : Janice

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12:05 PM

What You Think Determines Your Life

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: Self Improvement

“You are today where your thoughts have brought you. You will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.” James Allen

“Nothing limits achievement like small thinking; nothing expands possibilities like unleashed thinking.” William Arthur Ward

If there is anything that people hate to hear is that they are a product of their thoughts. In a world that likes to blame everyone else for their situation the last thing we want to accept is that where I am and who I am today is a culmination of my thoughts of my many yesterdays. We have built a western culture on “making someone pay” for what is happening to me today. The whole legal system seems to be making billions of dollars perpetuating this “victim” mentality. It is tying up the legal system with frivolous lawsuits. It would be like suing your parents because they used cloth diapers rather than pampers for the way you are today.

A study was done by the University of Tennessee over a 12 year time period. One group of people listened to just 5 minutes of negative news broadcasts – earthquakes kill thousands, bus blown up and 20 children killed, shooting in a church, shooting in a mall. Then the other group listened to more positive and uplifting news – organization helps struggling family with medical attention, motorist stops to help elderly man who had slipped on ice, church provides sandwiches, cookies and juice every school day for those children who come without a lunch.

There were four discernible effects on the listeners who were daily exposed to five minutes of bad news:

1. they were more depressed than before
2. they believed the world was a negative place
3. they were less like to help others
4. they began to believe that what they heard would soon happen to them.

Simply by receiving and reflecting on the information from the radio program, their perceptions of the world and their outlook on life were adversely affected. Their concept of reality was shaped by their thoughts.

You listen to the top motivational speakers – Myron Golden, Jerry Clark, Jeffrey Coombs, Ellie Drake, Dani Johnson, and all the others. Every one of them proclaims the importance of paying attention to what you are listening to every day. Every one of them tell you to stop listening to the TV news, the radio news. Stop reading the first few pages of the news papers. Instead take that time to listen to or read something worthwhile and uplifting.

The Bible says in the book of Proverbs, “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” This whole idea of our thoughts shaping our lives is not some new breakthrough in behavioural science. It has been around since the dawn of time. We just don’t like to accept it. It is much easier to take the easy road of the negative thinking. Unfortunately that easy road leads to the garbage dump of life. To be someone, to do something, to value others, to respect others all takes mental work. But we have become too lazy. We want life to give to us. But it does not give. We must build. We must work. We must become.

So, are you having a successful life? Do you wake up each day and say, “life is worth the living?” If you don’t, take the time to examine what you are thinking about. Take the time to see what thoughts are being received by your ears. If they are continually negative change what you are listening to. Change what you are reading. Change what you are thinking about. What we think influences what we do. What we think affects the feelings we feel.

Nolan Padgett is into this whole thing of getting out of bed seeing that it is going to be a great day with funforturenow and floridagatortravel. He is having a successful life as he changes his thinking to success thoughts. By : James Heller

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12:03 PM

15 Parenting Tips for Disciplining a Child

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: Parenting

"Please put away your toys now and eat your dinner", you say to your child. A few minutes later, your child still refuses to stop playing with his toys. He begins to throw a tantrum when you try to stop him.

Sounds familiar? As parents, we have to deal with misbehavior from children from time to time. How do we encourage good behavior in children, and how do we discourage bad behavior? How can we discipline our children effectively?

15 quick tips for disciplining a child:

1 - Tell a child what he should do and not what he should not do in a calm voice. Try to say it softly but stern tone, "Keep your hands to yourself", instead of "Don't Touch"

2 - Show a young child how to behave properly by explaining and showing how it should be done. "Put your toys into the box carefully like this...." and demonstrate.

3 - Give the child some preparation time before he has to carry out the instruction. "You have 10mins to play before dinner time. When time's up, can you put your toys back into the toy box and have your dinner?"

4 - Discuss what will happen if he misbehaves, always deal with the behavior, not the child. "If both of you continue to argue over who should have this toy, the toy will be removed from the 2 of you."

5 - When the child behaves well, reward him immediately to reinforce the positive behavior.

6 - Praise, smile, give a pat on the back or hug him. Give small treats occasionally but make it clear that material rewards will not be given every time.

7 - Never tell a child upfront that rewards will be given for good behavior. "If you are a good boy, I will buy you an ice-cream." This results in behaving the right way for the wrong reason and would caused the child to think that its a must to be rewarded when he behaves.

8 - Withdraw privileges if the child still do not obey. For example, If the child refuses to eat his dinner because he wants to watch cartoons, switch off the television.

9 - Impose responsibilities, especially for older children. You can try to ask the child to clean up the mess if he throws a tantrum and created a mess.

10 - Scold only when appropriate, that is when all other steps failed to work. Hold the child's shoulders with both your hands, look at the child at eye level, tell the child clearly and sternly why he is scolded and how he should change. Remember to scold him for the action, not him.

11 - Reconcile with the child and let him know that you love him, it's his behavior you don't like.

12 - Never scold the child in public. Bring him away from the scene where he misbehaves to a quiet place. Talk about the unacceptable behavior. Alternatively, say that you are bringing him home now because of the action he did.

13 - Match the type of discipline with the child's behavior. Choose a method that is suitable for the age and the maturity of the child.

14 - Discuss with your spouse and the child's grandparents on the aspects of disciplining. Work as a team and be consistent, so that the child knows that no matter who is with him, the tolerance level and the style of punishment for the same action remains the same.

15 - Never disagree with the adult, who is scolding or punishing the child, in front of the child. This causes confusion and the child will find it harder to accept that what he did was wrong. By : Angeline Foong Wai Leng

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12:00 PM

Managers: Can’t Live With Them… But Can You Live Without Them?

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: Music Highway

You can’t throw a rock in any metropolis on Earth without hitting someone claiming to be a manager. Where musicians go, managers follow. It’s as accepted and expected in the entertainment industry as an out-of-control cocaine habit or a failure to pay taxes. When you tell people you’re a musician, one of the first things they’re going to ask you is: Do you have a manager? However, those in the throws of the music business know to ask an even more accurate question: Do you have a good manager?

“What’s the difference?” you may ask. Isn’t any manager better than no manager at all? While it would seem that the answer to that question is unequivocally, “Yes”, in reality it’s a bit like asking, “Isn’t having a herpes-ridden prostitute for a girlfriend better than being single?” In truth, bad representation is far worse than a lack of representation. While, it’s a fact, that there are things your band will probably never achieve without the aid of a manager, agent, entertainment attorney, etc., bad representation can stagnate a career…stop it dead in its hurling climb to the ranks of superstardom or even worse…undo some of the hard work the band has already done.

Sad but true, a bad manager can take a perfectly good band and turn them into a thing so foul that old gypsy women covering their faces with rags will spit and give your band the evil eye as you pass. Ok, that may be a bit dramatic, but seriously…all your band really has is its name and its reputation, so why would take a chance on either of those by putting the whole of your band into the hands of someone that you’re not 100% sure has your best interests at stake?

The following are a few tips that will help you to decipher whether or not your manager can take you to the top or turn your band into a flop:

   1. The Drummer’s Girlfriend Is Not A Manager---Sure, she may get names for your mailing list, invite her girl’s beach volleyball team to all of your gigs and post your latest pictures on your website photo gallery, but she’s not really your manager. She’s a helper, she can be the president of your fan club, the head of your street team and the world’s sexiest roadie but she probably doesn’t know how to put together a press package and make the calls that will get you into an A&R rep’s office for a meeting. This also applies to: boyfriends, wives, husbands, booty calls, one night stands, moms, dads, cousins, aunts, uncles, neighbors, nieces, nephews, grandparents, grandchildren, pets and the homeless guy who roots through your trash at midnight. These people may all be well-meaning and you can accept their aid in dozens of ways (it takes a village to build a popular unsigned band) but don’t give them the label or the powers of a manager.

   2. Treasure Your Fans But Don’t Let Them Manage You---This should be a given but you’d be surprised how many over-eager, slightly-obsessed fans move from semi-stalker to mega-manager in a few simple weeks. I cannot stress how simply wrong this entire concept is for two dozen major reasons the most important of which is: fans need to be kept at a distance. There is a reason why that same person comes to all of your shows no matter how many you play, gets there early, sits up front seemingly paralyzed starring at you enraptured. Either they’re in love with someone in the band or they’re insane. These may be reasons to get a restraining order but certainly not reasons to make someone your manager. A band’s manager knows every secret of each musician, every person in each member’s personal life, where you keep your money, where you live, and who’s in your fan/contact database. This is not information that you want someone who has 450 cut-out pictures of you on their bedroom ceiling having at his/her disposal. Enough said?

   3. Don’t Sign A Contract Unless It’s Worth It---Manager’s like control. That why they choose to be managers and not people who macramé wall hangings with the mane hair of ponies. Thus, most managers will try and evoke you into signing a contract. In the entertainment industry, contracts are like marriage certificates…before you sign one be sure your band wants to be tied to the same person for long time (a year, two years, five years, etc.) because they’re much easier to get into than to get out of. For example, if you sign a contract with an efficient, but somewhat green manager, who is helping all he/she can to get you everything possible from what little resources he/she has and then Gwen Stefani’s management team approaches you after a big gig and wants to put you on tour with John Mayer. Do you think if you tell them, “We love to take your tour but we’re under contract with someone else for the next five years, can you hit us up then?” the offer will still stand? Not so much. So, if you must sign contracts, keep them short and make sure they give you room to act, think, play and communicate with others without getting clearance from your band warden (manager). And make it includes an exit clause. Read up on it.

   4. Sometimes Bigger Is Not Better---Although it’s a huge ego stroke to brag to all of the other musicians backstage at the Whiskey A Go-Go that your manager works with Grammy award-winners and stadium sell-outs, sometimes an unsigned band can get lost in a huge management firm. While Mr. Big Stud Manager is busy picking out Madonna’s dress for the American Music Awards, he may forget to ask Quincy Jones to attend your bass player’s birthday gig at Billy-Bob Wang’s Tofu BBQ Shack. The problem with huge managers is that their focus often goes the acts that are making them 15% of 100 million dollars a year. Your 15% of $45.75 a year after expenses is probably not his highest priority now or ever, and what good are his super amazing industry contacts if he never remembers to invite them to your gigs?

      Having a manager is great but only if they provide more benefit to the band than the sum total of your band members and band helpers can do for yourselves. If you find someone who can open doors, take your music places it cannot go on its on and has your best intentions at heart, then grab that contract, sign it and enjoy the benefits. If not, you may find yourself: conned, stalked, ignored and/or legally bound to someone that puts their own agenda (well-meaning or otherwise) and their own ego above what’s right for you band. And whatever you do, don’t sit around waiting for Mr./Ms. Right to wisk your band off its feet and carry it off on his/her white horse to the Fairyland where everyone gets a record deal. You, as its members, know more than anyone, how to do what’s right for your band and nothing will attract the perfect manager faster than seeing musicians who are out there, doing their thing, and making headway in a very difficult business with a great attitude and terrific music.   By : Sheena Metal

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11:57 AM

5 Ways To Save Money While Planning Your Wedding

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: Marriage and Pregnancy

1. Instead of floral centerpieces think about candles or colored stones. Line the bottom of a vase with colored stones. Set a candle or a few stems of your favorite flower (most likely this will be the flower chosen as your theme in your bridal bouquets). One bride used her centerpiece as wedding favors. She planted a flower, in this case a daffodil, each in a pot and put them in the center of the table. It not only made a beautiful centerpiece but each guest took home a lovely plant to remember the joyous occasion.

2. Afternoon weddings, Sunday mornings, or Fridays are not premium times and therefore you can get a break on the prices. Brides and Grooms are now thinking outside the box. Garden weddings or Brunch style weddings are very sophisticated and can be very entertaining. This also allows time for the happy couple to unwind before taking off for their honeymoon or spending quality time with close friends and family after the party.

3. Take some time to educate yourself on flowers. Flowers that are out of season or a special color are more expensive. Talk with your floral designer and ask what flowers are in season in your color scheme. There is so much out there to choose from without costing much.

4. Consider making your own favors. Favors are not meant to be expensive. They are a token of gratitude for your guest. Packets of seeds attached to a note of thanks or a special poem or saying goes a long way.

5. Alcohol can be very expensive and a cash bar is out of the question. Depending on your guest, wine can be served during dinner by the wait staff while beer and soft drinks can be available at the bar. This can keep your bar expense under control.

Planning a wedding is exciting and fun as well as a lot of work. In order to stay within budget keep all receipts and make sure you know how your money is being spent. Be flexible and think outside the box. Remember skimp in some places, so that you can splurge in others and things will turn out great! By : Yasmin Shikina

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11:54 AM

5 Ways to Increase the Love Making in Your Relationship

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: Love and Relationships

Love is a single word but it carries many deep feelings within itself. These are care, understanding, devotion, dedication, respect for each other, and sense of responsibility thereby making this feeling so powerful and incredible. The feeling of love comes instantly in a person’s heart and it has the power to merge an individual within itself. Love: a four letter word which fills everybody’s heart with smile, happiness and joy. It is a delicate thread which binds two people in such a strong relation. It makes life so beautiful.

Everything around you seems to blossom. Love brings meaning to ones life. It makes you feel special in its own way. You just can’t stop thinking about your beloved. When you are in love you can never be lonely wherever you go. Love is when you want to be with your soul mate every time and everywhere. Love makes each day worth getting up for. It’s magic! It can do wonders. It is the feeling of heart not mind.

You don't have to go overboard by going to a fancy restaurant every other day or going on vacations that you cannot afford. Mind you those things help but, sometimes the little things that mean the most. Here are five things you can do that will improve your relationship and will allow you to have the best love making experience:

1. Listening

The lack of communication can be very frustrating to women but not listening can really get their dander up. Many men have been accused of concentrating more on whatever was on television than our wives and girlfriends. To a large degree it's true. Most women like to talk about personal matters that have a direct bearing on their lives, their family or friends. What's on TV at that time is irrelevant. Show that you appreciate her by listening. Don't just wait for her to start talking. Initiate the conversation sometimes, and then listen carefully not only to what she says but her body language as well. This is not a one shot deal. Listening to her on a steady basis can only help better your relationship.

2. The Small Occasion Celebration

We've all seen the shows where the woman gets upset because the husband forgets their anniversary or birthday. That quite honestly should never happen. However for a lot of women, there are many smaller occasions that mean just as much; for instance the anniversary of your first date or the day both of you bought something together.

Being able to surprise your lady with little things that you know mean something to her (something she probably figured you took no notice of) can be a major relationship booster. If you have to "cheat" a little bit then get your own personal journal to keep track of these things.

3. Get to Know her People

Women value their relationships. While many men are of the take it or leave it mentality, it is very important to most women that you get to know her family and friends. These are people who make up a special part of her life and by taking the energy and effort to genuinely get to know them, you are showing her how much you love and care for her.

They maybe coming from a perspective that you are not crazy about but hang in there. Be open minded and respectful. The chances are that somewhere down the line you will want her to meet your people. Extend the same courtesies to her family and friends that you would expect from her if the situations were reversed.

It's easy to get stuck in a routine and set in our ways. But it's most important to continually show the lady of your life that you love her. Again it doesn't take extravagance. Get to know her people, be mindful of the small big occasions and above all listen. Doing these three things is planting the seeds of long term healthy relationship.

4. Give Up Trying to Change the Other Person

The desire to fix or change the other person is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. Plus, it causes power struggles within relationships and issues of control. One person feels she cannot love the other unless the other changes. The other feels hurt, inadequate and as though something is wrong with him.

Having a healthy relationship means having the ability to love your partner as they are. Our partners have been put here to grow, develop and discover who they are. This can be a lengthy and challenging process. But the surprising thing about change is that the less we push and disapprove of others, the more easily and naturally they grow and change.

5. Develop Patience

Patience is an old-fashioned word in today's world. However, there is no way to rush growth in relationships or in the development of joy. If you're eager to get on the right track, there are two ways to get started: Learn how to be more giving and make an effort to be a better listener. But each one of these tasks takes time to master -- and patience. That's why it is necessary to realize that as we are, right now at this moment, we are lovable and acceptable. If you're ready to increase the amount of joy you feel in your own relationship, take back the responsibility for finding joy in your life, you will be pleased at the results. By : Kayla Lane-Moore

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11:40 AM

Home Renovations Shows On Television

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: Home Improvement

Many television shows that bulding a home by team of builders and designers in seven days while the family goes off on vacation. It is a spinoff of Extreme Makeover. The show's are top-rated and has become more popular than the original Extreme Makeover. Normally family will then be sent off on a one-week vacation ,while the house is renovated or demolished, depending on its condition and the family's needs. Beginning with Season 3 the demolitions have become quite creative -- the team has used falling trees, tanks, and even monster trucks to accomplish the task where needed.A local home builder and community volunteers begin basic work (electrical, plumbing, roofing, and if the house is demolished framing a new one) while the design team begins designing the creative aspects of the house. Once the basic work is completed, the design team then will add the finishing touches. Shows often feature design team members making a trip to a local Sears store as well as special guest appearances.At the end of the week, the family returns to their home, to see cheering crowds and the view of their home blocked by a bus.

Television makes everything look so easy and that may be one of the problems with it. Home renovations are not easy to do right and the home renovations television shows can make you think that home renovations are so simple to do but what they neglect to remind you is that there are experts doing those home renovations or at least supervising them. There is a lot involved in home renovations but I will admit that those television shows certainly do offer a lot of great ideas and they offer ideas that I have used in my own home but I do have to remind myself that experts are doing the work. Unfortunately the work I do can remind me that there are experts doing that work on television.

The home renovations television shows are amazing because they take homes that look like they should be demolished and turn them into palaces. The newest craze in home renovations television shows are shows about flipping houses. Flipping a house means buying a house in need of repair for a low price, putting in some work to it, and then selling the house for a profit. The danger I noticed in these shows is that they make house flipping look really easy and it is not. As an answer to that very problem the newer house flipping shows show the actual results of the flip and not just the results the flipper was expecting. More often than not the profit they were hoping for is nowhere near the profit they actually make.

Television shows can make replacing walls look so easy that it is almost dangerous. In a half hour show the walls in a home are taken down and then rebuilt with what looks like no problem at all. I often wonder how many times a wife has come home from work to see that her husband had watched a home renovation show that made replacing walls look so easy and now they are the proud owners of a huge mess. One thing those television shows neglect to cover is the concept of load bearing walls and how removing a load bearing wall can cause parts of your house to collapse. I bet that is a fun lesson to learn. So just be careful when you watch some of these television shows and remember that the ones that make it look easy are professionals. Unless you are a professional you are not going to experience the same sense of ease that the professionals on television experienced. By : Roger Thompson

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11:37 AM

5 New Year’s Resolutions to Make Your Family Stronger!

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: Home and Family

Many of us make New Year’s resolutions every year. We set goals for exercising, loosing weight, staying organized. But how many of us take the time to size up our family?

Are you conscious of how your time is spent together? How many meals are you eating together as a family? How much time do you spend alone with your spouse? Do your children’s activities flood your calendar?

In just a minute, I’m going to give you suggestions for five basic building blocks that help strengthen families, but first I’d like to suggest that you do a simple exercise. Take out your calendar from last month. Calculate how much time you spent with the following activities: time spent all together as a family; time spent alone with each child; time spent alone with your spouse; time for yourself; and work time. What did you find out? Review the suggestions below and see if you want to incorporate some of these ideas.

Strategy #1: Commit to eating four or more evening meals together as a family.

The family meal, once a common occurrence in American homes, has now been usurped by activity after activity. It’s estimated that only 30 percent of us eat meals together regularly. Yet, all research points to the fact that the family meal is a relic worth saving.

A University of Michigan study found that more meals at home was the single strongest predictor of better achievement scores and fewer behavioral problems. Meal time was far more powerful than time spent in school, studying, church, playing sports and art activities.(1)

Choose activities for your child that don’t commonly interrupt dinner time or be creative about how you can still eat together.

Strategy #2: Schedule a minimum of 2 hours a week together with your spouse.

Married couples spend, on average, just four minutes a day in meaningful conversation. (Source: American Demographics) The number one activity that spouses do together is watch TV. We seem to take for granted that our relationship with our spouse can go on auto-pilot, without care or nurturing. But yet without a strong marital foundation, the whole family system can fall apart.

One suggestion is to set aside 10 minutes a day to talk one-on-one with your spouse, uninterrupted. Wait until the children go to bed or set a boundary with them that Mom and Dad get 10 minutes alone after dinner each night to connect. You’ll gain an hour more of together time each week by this simple practice!

Consider having an in-house “date.” Stay up late and have dinner together after the kids are in bed. Build a fire and share some appetizers. Play a game together.

And of course, try to have a “real” date that generates some excitement a few times a month. You need a break from your kids and you deserve time for fun, too!

Strategy #3: Schedule a minimum of one family activity together each week.

We make decisions every day about how to spend our time. Nothing can be more important than the time you spend connecting as a family. While dealing with the hectic pace of work and children’s activities, the promise of family time on the calendar can be very welcoming.

Try to schedule at least one hour-long family activity each week. Write it down in INK on the calendar.

The activities can be as simple as playing games together, doing a puzzle, playing tennis, or watching family videos. Come up with a list of fun activities with your family and get started!

Strategy #4: Schedule a minimum of 30 minutes per week of special one-on-one time together with each child.

This is the most concrete thing that you can do to deepen your attachment to your child.

A child is far more likely to reveal intimate feelings to you when you’re alone with them. It’s highly unlikely that a child, who may be feeling vulnerable already, will reveal perceived weaknesses in front of a sibling. But, given time to let down their guard with a parent, they may let you in on struggles they wouldn’t reveal at the dinner table.

By having your sole attention, the child will feel valued. You’re making a huge statement to the child that nothing else is more important to you.

If you’re lucky enough to have two parents in the home, you can always try rotating the special time so that each child gets time with each parent.

Strategy #5: Have your child involved in no more than one or two activities simultaneously.

If your child is in an activity, it means that you’re in the activity, driving the child and siblings around to get to practices and games. Activities are fine, and even beneficial, in small doses, but activities rob time from you as a family. No factor is more important in a child’s development than time spent with their family.

The number of hours that children spend in structured sports has doubled. The number of hours a week that children passively watch a sibling’s activities has increased five fold to over three hours per week. And the amount of free time that children have has decreased by 12 hours per week. (1)

Be conscious of whether your life feels out of balance and set some rules about the number of activities your child can be involved in.

(1. University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, Center Survey, January, 1999. Reported by Sandra L. Hofferth, “Changes in American Children’s Time, 1981-1997.”) By : Toni Schutta,

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11:35 AM

8 Simple Tips for Healthy Diet

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: Health and Fitness

All the determination in the world to lose weight won't make a bit of difference if you're hanging onto an unhealthy set of dietary commandments that drive you unconsciously to eat at the wrong times or for the wrong reasons.

If you are on a diet, no doubt you are ready to get all the tips possible that have to do with weight loss. Losing weight is not always easy, and from time to time it is easy to get into a slump.

Here are eight simple tips on how you actually can get closer to your ideal weight:

1. Eating won't make you fat after 7 p.m.

It's not because calories consumed after a certain hour stay with you longer. The real problem with most people is, when they eat late at night, they're typically skipping meals during the day, said Annie Neuendorf, a dietician at Northwestern Memorial's Wellness Institute. That puts the body into deprivation mode, slowing your metabolism and making you more inclined to overeat later on. Better to eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.

2. Eating out?

Restaurant portions tend to be enormous, and if it's on the plate, we tend to eat it. If it's possible, order from the kid’s menu, where portions are more reasonably sized.

3. You can treat yourself once a week

You can't be good all the time, notwithstanding how devoted you are to sticking to a healthy diet. Allowing yourself to have something decadent every now and then is not only OK, it's encouraged. However, if you're the kind of person that can eat 10,000 calories in one day, it's not a good idea to do that.

4. Is it best to work out early in the morning?

This is one of the most- unrelenting myths about weight loss. Exercising earlier in the day doesn't burn more calories. But the number of calories you burn relies on your metabolism, food intake and body composition -- things that aren't dependent on when you choose to exercise. Get your activity whenever it matches into your schedule, even if it's just 10 minutes at a time.

5. Eating is better than Drinking

Eating the fruit would be better than fruit juice that might seem a healthy choice, since liquids leave you feeling less full than solid foods. Likewise, drinking pop on a regular basis can add unnecessary calories. Consider: A 12-ounce can of regular pop has 9 teaspoons of sugar and about 100 calories. "If you do that three times a day, that's almost a pound a week of calories," said Celia Pappas, a dietician at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. Water and low-fat milk are brilliant options.

6. Drink water

When you're dieting, you should drink even more than usual. Even the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) recommends at least 8 full 8 ounce glasses of water a day to keep your body working right. It's not just that full feeling - water helps your body digest foods properly and cleans out your system.

7. Not to eat standing up.

One of the easiest ways to disrupt your diet is to 'eat without thinking'. Treat eating with the respect that it deserves. Fix yourself a plate. Sit down and eat appropriately. You will be less likely to just pop food into your mouth without paying attention.

8. Purchase a vegetable steamer.

Steaming is one of the healthiest ways to cook vegetables. The food keeps nearly all of its natural nutrients instead of discharging it out into the cooking water. Even better, it makes your veggies taste great - which means you'll be more likely to eat them instead of filling up on fatty foods that pack on weight. By : Gree Lya

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11:33 AM

About Botanical Gardens

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: Gardening

A botanical garden is a place in which plants are grown and displayed primarily for scientific and educational purposes. A botanical garden consists chiefly of a collection of living plants, grown out-of-doors or under glass in greenhouses and conservatories. It usually includes, in addition, a collection of dried plants, or herbarium, and such facilities as lecture rooms, laboratories, libraries, museums, and experimental or research plantings. Concrete fountains and wall water fountains are often included in the display of botanical gardens.

The plants in a botanical garden may be arranged according to one or more subdivisions of botanical science. The arrangements may be systematic (by plant classification), ecological (by relation to environment), or geographic (by region of origin). The larger botanical gardens often include special groupings, such as rock gardens, water gardens, wildflower gardens, and collections of horticultural groups produced by plant breeding, such as roses, tulips, or rhododendrons. A plantation restricted to exhibits of woody plants is called an arboretum. Most botanical gardens will incorporate water features such as water wall fountains. For more information on wall water fountains visit http://www.garden-fountains.com/Categories.bok?category=Wall+Fountains.

History of Botanical Gardens

One of the earliest botanical gardens for the study of plants was established in ancient Athens about 340 B.C. by Aristotle and run by his pupil Theophrastus. The oldest public botanical gardens in the world are those established at Pisa, Italy, in 1543; at Padua, Italy, in 1545; at Paris in 1635; and at Berlin in 1679. In the 16th and 17th centuries, herbalists cultivated medicinal herbs in private gardens. In 1673, the Society of Apothecaries planted the Chelsea Physic Garden in London to provide materials for research and medicine. The American botanist John Bartram near Philadelphia established the first experimental botanical garden in the U.S. in 1728.

Where Botanical Gardens Are Found

Almost every major city has a botanical garden. The Royal Botanic Gardens, better known as Kew Gardens, near London, founded in 1759, is the largest in the world. Experiments and research done there have led to the transplanting of commercially productive crops, such as rubber, from their native habitats to other parts of the world.

More than 300 botanical gardens are in the U.S. Among the most important are the Missouri Botanic Gardens in Saint Louis (1859); the New York Botanical Garden in Bronx Park (1895) and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, both in New York City. The Arnold Arboretum, established in 1872, is located at Harvard University.

Benefits of Visiting a Botanical Garden

By visiting botanical gardens or arboretums, city dwellers can discover a part of the natural world to which they ordinarily have no access, escape from the pressure of dense urban population, and perhaps even develop new interests and hobbies having to do with the natural environment. In these special parks, plants from all over the world are scientifically cultivated, studied, and artistically displayed for the pleasure and enlightenment of the public. Arboretums specialize in raising trees and shrubs (woody plants) in their natural surroundings. They may exist independently or as part of a larger botanical garden.

Unlike ordinary parks, botanical gardens and arboretums are laid out with more than just the beauty of the landscape in mind. They will offer sculpture and cast stone water features. Although trees and shrubs may be interspersed throughout the area to enhance the pleasant surroundings, plants are usually grouped according to their scientific relationships. Often there are small, special gardens, such as rose gardens, rock gardens, wildflower gardens, or Japanese landscape gardens contained within the larger botanical gardens. Many have sections devoted to plants of particular geographic origins, such as a tropical plant section, or an aquatic plant section. Usually, plants are labeled according to common name, scientific name, and region of origin. For more ideas on great cast stone water features visit http://www.garden-fountains.com/cast-stone-fountain-patinas.htm.

A garden may contain a few hundred or as many as 20,000 different species and varieties of plants, depending upon the amount of land, money, and professional help available. In size, botanical gardens range from about 2 1/2 acres (1 hectare) to over 220 acres (90 hectares). There may be a greenhouse, or more than one greenhouse, in a botanical garden. The greenhouse is used both for displaying plants and, where winters are cold, for growing plants that would not otherwise survive the seasonal change. In temperate climates, certain tropical plants must be grown in greenhouses-for example, tropical orchids and ferns, pineapples, Spanish moss, cacti, African violets, and begonias. Seedling plants that are to be set outdoors as soon as the weather is warm enough for them may be started in greenhouses or in hotbeds, which are beds of earth that are heated and covered with glass. Learn more about featured botanical garden plants at
http://www.garden-fountains.com/water-lilies/main-page-history-of-water-lilies.htm.

Many kinds of plants need certain climatic conditions at certain seasons, and a botanical garden may need special storage areas for them. Some young plants, for instance, may need a winter growing period but cannot survive freezing temperatures. They must be stored in cold frames, which are unheated, boxlike structures covered with glass. Houses built of lathing may be needed to store some plants temporarily in semi shade and to grow certain plants that cannot stand the hot summer sun. By : Elizabeth Jean

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11:31 AM

How To Get The Most From Your Red Wine

Posted by Doncrack | Labels: Food and Dining

If you like red wine but don’t know much about it, you’ve come to the right place. In this article we look at some handy tips for buying and serving red wine.

Work up through the sizes

If you are going to be serving more than one glass (or bottle) of red wine, the key thing to remember is to work through the sizes. In other words, start with a light red wine such as a Merlot, Barbara or Gamay, then move onto a medium bodied wine like a Tempranillo, Pinot Noir or Malbec, and/or finish with a full bodied red wine such as Shiraz, Zinfandel or Cabernet Sauvignon. If you start with the heavier red wine first, you’ll find that this will overpower the lighter red wine.

Full-bodied red wines are best saved for food

Big, powerful red wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz work best with tasty red meat. Why? Because these red wines are full of tannins, body and alcohol, which taste good with meat proteins but are often too harsh drunk on their own.

Light red wines work best over lunch

Soft and gentle red wines, such as Merlot and Gamay, are a great choice if you are drinking over lunch. This is because they are low in tannin, alcohol and acidity, which makes them easy to drink and not too powerful for the afternoon ahead. Similarly, they are a great choice as an aperitif, or for drinking on their own on a summer’s afternoon.

Buy for the person and occasion

Everyone has different tastes when it comes to red wine, so make sure that you buy your red wine to suit the person who will be drinking it. For example, if you are buying for yourself, go for something that you will like, not what the shop assistant or your friend likes. Also, it’s worth considering the occasion. If you hosting a dinner party, then a big full bodied red wine is bound to come up trumps but if you are having a lunchtime drinks party then a softer and fruitier red wine will be far more appropriate.

Focus on the style

When it comes to choosing a bottle of red wine, if you don’t know where to start or could do with a helping hand, it’s worth looking to retailers who focus on wine styles. Wine styles can give you a lot more choice compared to if you focus on grapes, countries or regions. For example, if you know that you like an Aussie Cabernet Sauvignon, the chances are you’ll stick to that in future, but if you discover that you like “Huge Reds” (full bodied, fruity reds) then you’ll have a host of different grapes to choose from including Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Zinfandel from Old and New World Countries.

Look to where the value is

Don’t be tempted to splash out on big brands or famous names, as you’ll end up paying for the labels. Instead, it is far better is to look to the lesser known regions, where you’ll get all the same quality for a fraction of the price. For example, try a Chilean Cabernet Merlot as a value alternative to a Classic Bordeaux.

Serving is the easy bit

The key to serving red wine is to place it in the kitchen before drinking to ensure that it is the right temperature. Also, especially if you have an old vintage or full-bodied red wine, you might want to open in advance to let it breath. Easy as that!

So now you’ve got the tips, you’ll be ready to put them in to action. By : Louise Truswell

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