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Improve Your Life Naturally

June 30, 2008 By

There’s always room for improvement. We’ve all heard this phrase; some of us may have been given this advice by well-meaning friends or family. Do you need to make changes in your career, your love life, your health? Whatever your need, there really is room for improvement for most of us. One area that you can make immediate changes, and feel results is in your health.

With all of the ads in the media bombarding us with quick fixes to everything that ails you, many people fall prey to the lure of pills and other concoctions that make promises that few actually keep.

Natural supplements and healthy foods is your first line of defense against germs or viruses that will inevitably try and attack you on the inside. It is never late to start making improvements to your lifestyle. These changes will make you feel better inside as well as looking better on the outside. Natural health is one of the best ways to keep your body going and to keep it in good working shape.

When faced with an illness that requires some form of medication to alter symptoms or cure a disease, make sure to do research and become well informed on all of the alternatives that are available to you. Discuss these with your physician, and do not eliminate the idea of going with a natural alternative if at all possible. Rather then taking some form of drug that will probably make you well, but severely destroy your body’s immune system in the process, seek instead a healthy alternative to bypass the forced chemical reaction you will get with traditional medicine–and instead facilitate your body’s healing at its own pace.

In general, however, these natural supplements will not instantly eliminate all of your symptoms, as chemical medicines do; instead, they will facilitate the healing process and at the same time infuse you with essential vitamins to fortify your body against future attacks. Natural health alternatives are not a quick fix all.

What about your everyday life and making improvements naturally that will help you maintain a healthy lifestyle; preventing potentially life altering diseases and symptoms? Natural vitamin and mineral supplements are a great alternative if you are not getting enough of the required amounts in your daily food. Remember to follow the recommended guidelines as overdosing is a waste and possibly hazardous to your health.

There is always room for improvement in our lives, and making positive changes in your health is one of the best places to start, and where you can take charge and feel results.

Article by: Sherry Frewerd publishes websites on various subjects from recipes to mineral makeup to toddler learning. A nature girl at heart, Sherry believes in the benefits of natural mineral makeup and skincare. Stop over to Natural You Mineral Makeup for some helpful and fun natural remedies, tips and product suggestions. Forget the Botox, talk to Mother Nature today!

Filed Under: Green Living Tagged With: , ,

Friends and Lovers: Treat Your Partner as Both

June 30, 2008 By

Having marriage issues? Before you go running off to couples therapy, ask yourself this question. When was the last time I treated my spouse as a friend? Most will agree, the healthiest marriages are based on friendship. Yet, so often couples lapse into prewritten “married people” scripts that are not even remotely close to friendly behavior!

Do you make certain demands on your husband because that’s the way your mother treated your father? Do you use the same phrases in speaking to your wife that your dad uttered to your mom? Would you treat your friend in the same manner? My guess is no.

Here are five things married couples do to each other that they’d never do to their friends.

1. Disrespect their partner in the company of others.

When was the last time you poked fun, rolled your eyes at, vehemently disagreed with or nitpicked the way your spouse chose to phrase a story in public? Would you behave the same way if you were out with a friend? For married people, being out in public together often means open ego warfare. This is as painful to watch as it is to be a direct participant. Next time your wife or husband is “being themselves” out with friends, just smile and remember that it is really not a big deal.

2. Regularly break plans.

If you decide to get together with a friend for lunch or dinner, do you back out last-minute? Why would you do such a thing to your husband or wife? Sure, having the rest of your lives to spend every day together may seem like a good reason to be lax about social outings, but think about the message this sends out. Do you really want your partner to think that you take him or her for granted? Do something good for your marriage; call them right now, make dinner plans and stick to them.

3. Nag, nag, nag.

Do you call up your friends and make demands on them? Why would you do this to your husband or wife? Harping, fussing, nagging and nitpicking are all really unappealing behaviors that escalate into open psychological warfare. Once they’ve begun, they’re a tough pattern to break. What would make you happier: telling your partner what to do and watching them do it begrudgingly, or giving them a chance to do something for you because they simply WANTED to do it?

4. Sabotage the holidays.

Unhappy spouses often make their misery known around the holidays. This can mean picking fights, taking it out on the in-laws, or even being unhelpful or uncooperative during the family festivities as “subtle revenge.” If our friends were to suddenly show up during an unpleasant Thanksgiving scene, how ashamed would we feel? Sweep those resentful feelings under the rug and remember to be thankful for your husband or wife, faults and all.

5. Forget your manners.

Please, thank-you, excuse me, and I’m sorry are no less important at home than they are when in the company of your friends and colleagues. Treat your spouse with kindness, don’t behave boorishly, correct your mistakes, remember your manners, apologize, forgive and forget. Little things really do mean a lot.

Sure, you vowed to stay together “for better or for worse,” but why make it worse when it can easily be so much better.

Article by: Are you an online relationship therapist, personal coach, or advisor? Let Dina Giolitto create your website, newsletter, blog and article content while you do what you do best – coach your clients! Want to learn copywriting and marketing techniques that will convert you website visitors to paying customers? Visit Wordfeeder.

Filed Under: Relationships Tagged With: , , ,

What Are You Planning to Achieve by The End of The Year?

June 23, 2008 By

Fast forward yourself to the end of December and as the year closes, how are you feeling about your achievements during this past year? Really get in touch with your feelings, live them, breathe them and don’t let them pass by. Are you feeling any disappointment, regret or frustration for the things you haven’t done or achieved? Do you find yourself thinking, “This past year has flown by and what have I done”, “There is so much more that I wanted to do” or “Why haven’t I done the things that I’d said I’d do”.

Now bring yourself back to today. You still have time before the end of the year to get on a track to achieving what you want. Imagine starting the New Year knowing that you’ve been consistently moving in the right direction and will continue to take the necessary actions.

Lack of planning is one of the reasons why many people get to the end of the year and feel they haven’t achieved what they want. Planning often isn’t seen as a priority or much fun. Hold on! If it’s not fun, that’s the way you’ve chosen it to be. Instead you can choose to have fun with your planning and perhaps even make it into a game. If planning isn’t a priority for you, then have you considered the messages that you’re giving to yourself. Messages such as, “I’m not that important in my life”, “I don’t deserve these things” or “I’m not likely to do what I say I will”.

However, the people who do have plans often make them too rigid. Their plan is stuck to word for word, without any room for flexibility. A plan that you set today needs to be open to regular reviewing and changing. A clue that your plan needs changing is when you find it difficult to follow through with the actions and don’t feel inspired.

You’ve now got an opportunity to end this year with a feeling of achievement. Seize the opportunity and make the most of it.

Start by defining for yourself your vision, dreams and desires. Make this specific and exciting so that you feel inspired to follow through with action. You may need to break this down into smaller pieces. For instance, if you want to grow your business, there may be a number of different opportunities that you choose to explore. Now define the strategies that you’ll use, how you’re going to do it. In the example of growing your business, your strategies may include research, sales and marketing, increasing employee numbers or finance. Now go through each strategy and brainstorm possible action steps. Go for as many as you can, being open to different and creative action steps, rather than sticking with what you would normally do. Sometimes the most outrageous actions steps turn out to be the best and most productive.

Then at least once a day visualize your dream; the achievement that you want to make and see what you feel is the next thing to do. Visualizing keeps your plan alive and you inspired, and allows you to see the right actions to take. Taking committed and inspired actions every day moves you towards your desires. At the same time give yourself the opportunity to step back and review what you want and what it will take to get it. Time spent regularly stepping back and re-evaluating your plans can save you a lot of time as you see what no longer needs doing, doesn’t serve you or needs to be done differently.

What I want for you is to be achieving and on the right track to your dreams by the end of the year.

Article by: Wendy Hearn works with business owners to be more effective and successful, achieving a more profitable business in less time. Click through to her site and read more of Wendy’s articles and about how small business coaching can take your business to the next level.

Filed Under: Work & Career Tagged With: , , ,

Plus Size Clothing Is Easier To Find Than Ever

June 23, 2008 By

It seems like everywhere you look, whether on tv, magazines, or the internet, the women portrayed are very thin. But these models aren’t the norm. Instead of trying to fight nature, you should embrace your gorgeous and voluptuous figure! In actuality, the average size today for women is 14, although the market is behind in catering to this larger size range.

Most boutique stores will not stock any clothes larger than size 12, which frustrates larger women who seek to keep up with the latest fashions. Fortunately, plus size clothing stores have opened that provide the latest styles to larger women. These outlets make it clear that their goal is to keep larger women looking fashionable. Many such stores not only have the same clothes as other stores, but also carry designs of clothing that are available only for larger women.

Department stores usually have a plus size area of the store, devoted to the more full figured woman, just look for the sign that says plus size clothing department. In some of these areas the same styles of clothing that are being sold in smaller sizes will be available here, just made to fit the more full figured woman, and costing a little more. There will always be sales to look forward to in the plus size area as well as anywhere else in the store, so keep watching for it.

A few extra pounds are often a large source of needless stress for brides. Instead of letting worry that they won’t be able to fit into their dream gown cause them to starve and take other drastic measures, it would be better to visit the bridal store and find dresses that actually fit. Plus size dresses are available at most stores. You will be able to find something that fits well and looks great, no matter if you’re the bride, bridesmaid, or the mother of the bride.

Lingerie is available in larger sizes, so no woman needs to hide her figure at night. Plus size lingerie is typically available along with all other lingerie. While it may be somewhat uncomfortable to try on at the store, you should always try it on before you purchase it. Finding the perfect lingerie can transform your figure, so take a deep breath, grab a piece of negligee and head off to the dressing room. You can and will look fantastic in plus size lingerie.

Even though it can be discouraging sometimes, don’t give up when it comes to finding plus size clothing that fits you and your style. Stores are increasingly focusing on the plus size range and many now offer entire fashion lines just for this group.

Article by: Andrea Morris writes about Plus Size Clothing. Visit us for plus size deals on a Plus Size Bra.

Filed Under: Shopping Tagged With: , , ,

Smoothies and Frozen Drinks – Secrets to Making the Perfect Frosty Summer Drink

June 23, 2008 By

What’s more refreshing than a frozen drink? If you’re looking for a delicious, healthy snack your kids will love, then a smoothie is a great choice. Or if you want to serve cooling refreshments to your summer guests, then a frozen drink is a real party pleaser. But there’s more to it than just tossing ingredients into a blender. Follow these secrets to making the perfect fruit smoothie or frozen drink and you’ll become an expert!

* Freeze the fruit ahead of time. It doesn’t matter whether your smoothie recipe tells you to do this or not, this little trick will make for a thicker smoothie. Wash your fruit, cut in bite size pieces (slice bananas), spread out on a baking sheet in a single layer and freeze. When your fruit is frozen, you can pack it together in a storage bag or container in the freezer. For best results, use within 2 weeks.

* Use fresh ripe fruit for the best flavor.

* When the recipe calls for ice, crushed ice is best. If you don’t have crushed ice, you can always place ice cubes in a sealable plastic bag on a cutting board and “crush” the cubes with a hammer, rolling pin, frying pan, etc.

* The blending order is important. First add the cold liquid, then the fruit, and last add the frozen yogurt (or ice cream) or the ice.

* Considering using a Smoothie Maker. They really work! Unless you have a powerful blender, it will labor when pulverizing ice.

How to Fix a Less Than Perfect Recipe

Making smoothies and frozen drinks is not an exact science. You can start with a recipe and always change and improve it. Here are some basic tips to adapt any smoothie recipe to your own tastes and requirements.

To make it thicker: Add more ice, frozen fruit (especially a banana), frozen yogurt, ice cream or sherbet

If it’s too thick: Add milk, water, or juice and blend again. Be careful when adding a lot of juice, because it will change the flavor of the frozen drink.

To make it creamier: Use ice cream, frozen yogurt or vanilla yogurt instead of the ice.

To reduce calories: Replace whole milk with skim milk. Use frozen yogurt or sorbet instead of ice cream. Add fresh fruit instead of sweetened frozen fruit. Use a sugar substitute. Choose nonfat yogurt over regular yogurt.

To make it sweeter: Add honey, maple syrup, a little sugar (superfine or confectioner’s sugar blends best) or Splenda.

If it’s too sweet: add a little lemon juice or even lemonade.

To make it healthier: Add protein power or brewer’s yeast available from the health food or vitamin store (and some supermarkets).

To add fiber: Add ground flax seed, wheat bran, wheat germ, and leave the skin on the fruit.

To make a frozen drink with alcohol: Substitute rum, vodka, or a fruit liqueur for an equal part of the juice or other liquid called for in the recipe. Pour into a margarita or hurricane glass and garnish with fresh fruit. However, if a frozen drink calls for alcohol and you prefer a non-alcoholic beverage, simply substitute juice, milk or water for the spirits.

To add extra flavor: Use very ripe, quality fresh fruit. A little cocoa powder gives it a chocolatey flavor. Try a few drops of almond extract or some of the other fruit extracts sold in the baking section of the supermarket. Add a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg.

Recipes to get you started:
(Blend each of these as directed above)

Strawberry-Banana Smoothie
8 oz. vanilla or strawberry yogurt
1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, frozen
1 whole banana
1 tablespoon honey

Orange Creamsicle Smoothie
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup milk
2 cups orange sherbet
3/4 cup vanilla frozen yogurt

Peach Smoothie
2 cups peach nectar (juice)
1 cup peach yogurt
1/2 banana
1 1/2 cups frozen peach slices
1 cup vanilla frozen yogurt

Cantaloupe Smoothie
1 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups cantaloupe, cut in chunks, frozen
heaping tablespoon of vanilla yogurt
ice cubes to thicken

Cappuccino Smoothie
1 cup brewed coffee
1 cup milk
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup vanilla ice cream
2 cups crushed ice or ice cubes
Garnish with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon

Article by: Linda Kling is the owner of Photo Party Favors, which offers personalized photo favors and custom photo cards, photo announcements and photo invitations. Visit her website for lots of free party recipes, party tips, free printable candy bar wrappers, more.

Filed Under: Food & Drink Tagged With: , , ,
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