Feng Shui Tips For Renovating Your Home - Part 2

Light plays a very important role in creating good feng shui. Dark corners in homes attract a lot of negative energy that can be harmful for the family. A brighter home is always more auspicious than a dark and gloomy one. If you were planning to renovate your house, the addition and widening of windows to let in more natural light would be a great idea. Sunlight rejuvenates the energy of a room. As much as possible, all rooms in the house should have window, especially the bedrooms. Although bedrooms are predominantly Yin areas of the home, it is inauspicious for the bedroom to be too Yin (passive and dark), as it would resemble a tomb. Having a window allows the bedroom's energy to a renewed everyday by letting in fresh air and sunlight.

On the other hand, it is also a bad idea to have too much light in the house. Floor-to-ceiling windows and glass doors tend to let in too much light. A room with too much Yang energy is also a bad idea, as it may cause restlessness and petty irritations.

A fresh coat of paint would also do wonders to the room. The walls and furniture is should be painted or cleansed regularly to get rid of accumulated negative Chi. This is the quickest and easiest way to renew the Chi of the home.

As much as possible, important areas of the home such as your bedroom should not be located next to toilets and the kitchen. If this is inevitable, at the very least, make sure your bed or work desk does not share a wall with the toilet or the stove (with the toilet and the stove on the other side of the wall).

For more practical feng shui tips visit - http://www.fengshuitipstoday.com/

Chinese Vases Fengshui and Why You Should Own a Wealth Pot

Feng Shui is one of the best ways to bring goodness into your life, though it only works if you believe in it with your heart. There are many symbols and many traditional Chinese items which are used in Feng Shui. Chinese vases Feng Shui are one of them.

These Chinese Feng Shui vases come in many shapes and sizes and in many colors which are important in Feng Shui. They are most beneficial in enhancement of money luck. They attract prosperity and help in maintaining it in the house. It's very important that you follow the various rules and guidelines in Feng Shui to get the best results.

Materials For Vases
The material of the vase should be in balance with all the elements of the area where the vase is supposed to be placed. For different directions, there are different materials to be used like for southwest or northeast you should use crystal and for west or northwest go for metal as it brings in the best of luck in wealth.

You can place Chinese coins and crystals and some jewelry and gold ingots or maybe some precious or semi-precious stones in it. It will help if you cover these vases with blue, green, red, yellow and white cloth and never open it again as it will help to retain the vases power. Besides keeping it covered, do hide it from the eyes of others.

Types of Feng Shui Vases

Porcelain Feng Shui vases symbolize perpetual harmony. They come in many colors such as blue. Blue is a magnificent Feng Shui color. It is connected to the healing and refreshing water and with the clear skies. The shades of blue can vary from a gentle aqua blue to the bluish green of the sea. There are also shades of blue that go into the deep indigo blue.

One of most magnificent vases is the large Ram vase with ancient Chinese characters inscribed on the face. The handles of the vase look like the horns of a Ram which happens to be one of the Chinese zodiac animals. Then there's a white and orange mother and child Chinese Feng Shui vase. You can energize your family area with this and it's very good for expecting mothers.

The triangle shaped vase with mountain and moon design with flying birds has special significance in Feng Shui. All these Chinese Feng Shui vases bring the money luck closer to you and keep them in your houses.

Similarly there are Feng Shui wealth pots that symbolize never ending good fortune and are symbols of prosperity. The Feng Shui wealth pot, as the name suggests, invites spiritual and materialistic good luck into your lives and it maintains it as well. It works as a wealth energizer and pulls lots of wealth in your house. There is an ancient practice of keeping wealth pots in homes practiced in china for several years by many rich people. It brings in lots of good fortune and loads of wealth too.

Now the question is why you should own a wealth pot? Isn't the answer obvious? Who wouldn't want wealth in their lives and would want to maintain it too? These wealth pots bring lots of good fortune in your lives so that's brings happiness too.

What's important is that you must follow all the guidelines and never open these wealth pots. They should be cleaned only on the day of the Chinese year and kept back again. So lets' bring in all the luck and let the magic begin with Chinese Feng Shui.vases

Click Here to get Free Tips on how to improve your life with Feng Shui. Lynn Lee is a celebrated authority on the traditional Chinese art of Feng Shui, providing valuable advice on Feng Shui Decorating.

Grandparents Claim Custody of Grandchildren

Daily we read and hear something which we know already or something which is more likely linked with our lives. Yes something such I happen to see in today's newspaper. It was a report about the "Grandparents claiming the custody of their grandchildren".

These days we have forgotten our values and traditions of how our parents bought up by giving their age to make us happy. But still we're stressed and tensed about something or the other. We complain in short. Now our parents are fighting for our kids. It's because of us. When they had already gone through so much pain and struggle to raise us from kids to adults and still going, they are even trying to claim the custody of our kids. Why is this happening? Are we not responsible for our kids like our parents? Have a thought. Think and comprehend.

More and more grandparents are coming forward to claim the custody of their grandchildren just to save them from their squabbling parents. It is because that they love their grand children and wish well and good of them and so about their children who has been neglecting their children for the sake of their own lives. Children are supposed to be raised in good environment where parents and family make bliss and enjoy the babyhood with the growing years. But that is we find very rarely these days.

There has been an increase in the number of elderly people who are legally trying to win rights to take care of their grandchildren. The courts are also awarding custody of grandchildren to grandparents if they are able to successfully prove that they are in a position to take care of the children.

Many cases are in rise where the grandparents are filing petition for the custody of their grand son and daughter because of the divorce of their son or daughter. When asked about the opinion of the children as with whom they are willing to stay the answer is grand mother and grand father as they feel more loved and cared by them.

In my view there is nothing wrong in claiming the custody of grandchildren by their grand parents. If they are well and good to heed the children, the custody should be given to them as they children are more attached to the grandparents than working single mothers or divorced spouses who cannot be held for the entire responsibility of the small children with stressed work and tensed life.

Samiya Anwar

House Feng Shui - Feng Shui Rules For a Paradise House

In life, it is important to have a clear path to your front house as highlighted in Feng Shui rules. What this means is that your walkway should be clean, your flowers well kept, your bushes trimmed, your lawn mowed, your doorbell functional and your front door in good condition. Also, at night, make sure the pathway is lit so when you have guests the way into your home is clear. Making sure of this will allow positive chi flow into your home, that is to say you will be allowing good energy into your home.

In house Feng Shui, the better the energy you let into your home, the easier it will be to create wealth, more money, better physical and mental health, better relationships, more opportunities with others and for yourself, and a happier mood in life.

In your house Feng Shui, you should be free of clutter. If you have clutter and are disorganized, clean it up.

You will feel so good as you are ridding yourself of old stuff or just organizing your clutter. It is actually a great experience you could look forward to. Ya right, you're thinking. Well, it's true! You get to go through all your stuff and feel the energy it holds (certain memories that are attached to it) and you can decide if you want those memories in your home attached to an actual physical object (like a book or a lamp), or if you think it won't serve you in your home and you'd rather keep the memory in your heart then toss it out or recycle it! It is fun because you can organize the stuff you are keeping (and create space for new stuff). Ahh can't you just feel that breath of fresh air?

Then you will know where everything is in your home and you will feel more at ease and comfortable. Subconsciously, your mind will be clearer because your environment is in order.

If you ever need more Feng Shui Rules for your House Feng Shui, Come to this Lens

Clearing the clutter in your home is important for many reasons. Some people don't know how to take that initiative. This can help those people: Home Paradise Feng Shui ...so turn your house into the paradise it should be!

Why Feng Shui Can't Be Considered a Science

When I first started speaking publicly about feng shui in 1992, I was very enthusiastic about promoting it as a natural science, mostly because I believed it to be so. I was also reacting to the mounting trendiness of feng shui, as it was being marketed by people who referred to it as "magic" or a spiritual practice linked to Tantric Buddhism. I could not stand these comparisons because I knew they were not true and I also felt they tarnished the integrity of feng shui. I did not want to turn off potential clients who could accept feng shui as real, but with a clear conscience that it is grounded in laws of nature and a time-tested methodology transcending Chinese culture. I wanted to educate the public that feng shui theories and principles would not be in conflict with anyones' spiritual or formal religious beliefs and is as relevant, or more relevant today, than its discovery thousands of years ago. That part I still do believe. Feng Shui is no more in conflict with any organized religion than say, the laws of gravity. Feng Shui is a natural phenomenon on this planet. But is it a science?

A friend with an impressive scientific background gently told me years ago that it cannot be considered a science because the circumstances which we evaluate and interpret cannot be guaranteed to repeat or be identical all of the time. Like a science experiment where a set group of compounds are combined with a repeatable and identical outcome, feng shui includes too many variables which cannot be repeated or guaranteed.

For example, I can say with confidence that a house which was built in the 1970's and which faces South is one where there is a strong tendency for a couple to divorce in. And yet, I cannot guarantee that outcome 100% of the time or say exactly with 100% accuracy when the separation will occur, even when factoring in annual cycles. With two houses that were built the same year, same orientation, and same floor plan, we still cannot guarantee the two houses would be decorated the same way or used the same way. One family might use the Northwest bedroom as an office and another might use the Northwest bedroom as a sleeping room. That alone will change the influence of the houses on the two families. Nor can we repeat the exact same exterior environment. One house might have a park across the street and another house a hill. These outside features would affect the same floor plan differently. And finally, with all of us having some measure of free will or destiny, we cannot place the identical occupants in two separate but equal living spaces. Perhaps the closest we could get would be occupants for each house with the same birth dates.

And yet, feng shui gets pretty darn close. I call it a "predictive art," like astrology, because there are tendencies, strong ones, when certain circumstances are similar or when enough variables are identical.

My books cover many case studies of certain house types that I have evaluated, documented and have seen with great amazement that their "personalities" are well defined. There are house types that can undermine fertility, house types that seem to attract legal problems to their occupants and house types that can suggest infidelity, just to name a few examples.

There are 144 different house types based on the 20 year era that they have been built in and their magnetic compass alignment. For instance, a house built in 1985 facing east is different in its influence than a house built in 2004 facing the same direction. Or a house facing West at 260 degrees is different than a house facing west at 265 degrees.

Within these 144 house types, there could be hundreds, maybe thousands, of different basic floor plans. This is why every house is truly unique. As well, houses change their influence on occupants over long periods of time. A house built in 1903, without any remodeling or decor changes, will affect people differently in 2009. Houses go through their own "maturation" process and the the biggest cycle repeats every 180 years.

Even though feng shui is not an absolute science, I have been impressed at how close it gets, with clients confirming the influence of their home or business based on the traditional calculations of time and space. When I ask the occupants if they are experiencing certain health issues indicated by their environment, the affirmative response is about 90%. When people experience a certain event, like a robbery or fire, the timing of these events can be corroborated with almost as much accuracy. In the same way that our weatherman can predict a 70% chance of rain or a pollster can predict the likely outcome of an election, feng shui can be considered a "predictive art" without diminishing its authenticity, usefulness, and relevancy in our modern world.

Kartar Diamond is a classically trained Feng Shui consultant, author and senior Instructor at the American Feng Shui Institute. Her website showcases all the types of services she offers, locally, nationally, and internationally. http://www.fengshuisolutions.net

Five Reasons Why Solar Power is Right For Your Water Fountain

A solar water fountain could become the highlight of your entire landscape. Some people plant bedding flowers and flowering shrubs and perennials to beautify their gardens. A solar fountain will make an interesting feature to your garden or patio dcor simply, easily and inexpensively.

If you have hesitated about buying a garden water fountain before, the benefits of solar power will quickly change your mind.

• There are no running costs - No mains electricity or batteries to buy
• No installation costs - Are easy to install for all skill levels
• Eco-friendly - do not use non-renewable fossil fuels
• Can be placed anywhere - user-friendly and easy to set up
• Inexpensive and last for years

When you purchase your solar water fountain, it will be a self-contained unit. You may buy a direct power kit but you will probably want to go with the power pack. The power pack has the advantage of absorbing the suns rays then storing that energy for continued usage, day or night. You can take advantage of the fountain even when the sun goes down for those evening garden parties or poolside parties.

Because you are not using mains power, you are not contributing to the depletion of the Earth's resources. There are no holes to dig, no electric cables to install and no dry cell batteries to buy. You do not have to worry about hooking them up to a power source to make them run. Solar fountains and solar water pumps require no power source and so can be installed anywhere. Find a nice spot in your garden where your fountain will have maximum impact

Setting up a solar water fountain is an easy project even for the most novice DIY person and you will have your fountain up and running in no time. Just add water.

Solar powered water fountains are comparatively inexpensive and will last for years. Even when you redesign your landscape, the fountain can be incorporated in a different area of the garden and continue to run effortlessly.

Solar water fountains will enhance the beauty of your garden or patio.

Solar fountains run off the energy of the sun and are quickly becoming very popular.

Solar fountains are extremely friendly to the environment. They don't require any external power source so they don't increase the demand for electricity from polluting coal or natural gas electric plants. Solar fountains are the organic way to enhance the ambience of your garden. Few sounds are as pleasing as the slow murmur of cascading water.

Outdoor water fountains come in all sorts of designs, from those with cascading waterfalls to those that include a birdbath pool, to those that spout jets of water into the air, to decorative wall fountains. serenityhealth.com has a great selection of solar water fountains available in many different styles for use landscapes and in ponds.

There is a large range to choose from, depending on the style you're after for your garden's new image. Make the solar fountain the centerpiece of your garden or simply use them as accents, to increase your gardens overall beauty.

Solar fountains are a great addition to a water feature. Take advantage of their benefits.

Now emerging from the mist of a colorful and varied career, Ian Patterson was born early in is life somewhere in a long forgotten postal code. The mantra that he learned from his parents, while growing up on their farm was "if you want it done right, then do it yourself".

That's just what he did.

Ian Patterson is someone who's been there, done that, printed the T shirt and wrote the book. A firefighter, soldier, yachtsman, skier, climber, mechanic, plumber, electrician, data technician, business continuity planner, and web writer are just some of the things he's been.

He was a pescaterian before it was fashionable and is an avid animal lover and a longtime dog handler. He has traveled to most countries around the world. Set up home in three of them and learned their language and culture.

Now he is the founder and CEO of Write Research Office since 2004.

Chinese New Year - Get Chinese New Year Eve Celebration Around the World

The Chinese New Year is a fifteen day celebration that falls on a different date each year as it is a combination of lunar and solar movements. It usually falls in the month of January or February. This year marks the 'Year of the Horse'.

The Chinese New Year's date varies every year and falls on second new moon after the winter solstice. The date for the occasion is decided according to the calendar which is a combination of the solar and the lunar calendar. Rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, cat, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog and boar are the animals that are considered to be auspicious. Each person as is believed in the Chinese calendar resembles an animal and this reflects their traits.

The Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival as it is also known is the most revered holiday of the year. This is the time when family and friends gather and offer prayers to their ancestors and deities followed by a lavish dinner to usher in the New Year. During this time, families clean their homes while feng shui believers decorate their homes accordingly. On Chinese New Year Eve, members of a family stay up late as legend goes that long ago; the gods in heaven would give gold to each family so they would keep awake, active and ready to accept the gold gift.

Families decorate their homes with pretty vases and colorful flowers symbolizing that nature has reawakened. Oranges and tangerines are placed in the house as a sign of happiness and prosperity. A tray of candies made of eight different types of candies are placed along with these. The candies are made of lotus seeds, longan, peanuts, coconut, cumquat, red melon seeds, candied melon, etc.

The traditional food that is a significant part of the Chinese New Year party includes Jai, Fish and chicken, noodles and desserts. The dinner has a symbolic meaning in which the Chinese dumplings imply wealth as they are in the shape of ancient Chinese gold or silver ingots. Jiu is the traditional hard liquor in China symbolizes longevity as also Daikon, a white radish. Red chilies symbolize good luck while rice ensures harmony.

Chinese people are usually out on the roads, especially kids who wear Chinese dragon masks and go for the Chinese New Year Dragon parade. Dragon dances are a vital part of the Chinese New Year. One man who has a 'Pearl Of Wisdom' on a pole entices the dragon to follow him to the drum beats as though searching for wisdom and knowledge. The lion dance is an equally important ritual in the consecration of any auspicious time in China. The Lantern Festival is an amazing visual display of multicolored paper lanterns created by craftsmen in designs of butterflies, dragons, birds, dragonflies and other insects or animals. The Dragon Boat Festival marks the day of a certain Chinese scholar who threw himself into the river over a political protest.

Chinese New Year is not just a festival of fun and part, but also a time to welcome the new season, pray for prosperity and well being and cleanse away the any thing evil.

Kundan writes many Chinese new year related articles. 123chinesenewyear.com provide ideas about Chinese new year eve, Chinese New Year animal, and Chinese New Year 2009 activity.

American Dessert Banana Ice Cream

Ice cream is often called The Great American Dessert. Find out the history behind ice cream - sundaes and cones. Ice cream structure is both fascinating and confusing. The way we perceive the texture of ice cream when we consume it (smooth, coarse, etc.) is based on its structure, and thus structure is probably one of its most important attributes.

Fried Banana ice cream has been so hot recently that my thoughts have turned to ice cream. Ice cream is about the simplest recipe I know for a cool desert. Smooth, creamy cherry ice cream with heart-shaped chocolate covered cherry candies and a thick chocolate sundae sauce swirl. I have served baked bananas as dessert many times. Slit bananas sprinkled with brown sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon, baked till soft, served with or without ice cream. That sugary lemony sauce looks and tastes divine, full of the ripeness of bananas. But banana in ice cream sounded intriguing.

The banana ice cream really should be unsweetened. Find high quality chocolate if possible. The result was an ice cream we all allowed ourselves to like. The taste of bananas in ice cream was new to us all, and the garden lemon added an interesting and fragrantly refreshing note. It was concluded a winner!

The banana Ice creams are very taste, however, was quite good. A cheap and easy ice cream recipe without cream: just evaporated milk, skim milk and sugar. I flavored the basic ice cream recipe with vanilla and banana puree to get rid of the evaporated milk taste but feel free to improvise! The pure banana ice creams in a blender or food processor with the lemon juice and the sugar. Please purchase online www.indomunch.com in NewYork city.

Representing the website http://www.indomunch.com

Feng Shui Rules - Cracking the Code to Universal Abundance

A Story That Puts Feng Shui Rules into the Context of Your Life

We are members of this vast and expansive organism that we call the Universe. I believe that as sentient beings, our lives were originally designed to be infinitely more abundant, in every aspect, than they are right now. To create the best possible life and world, we must live in accordance with Universal Principles.

You might be thinking: "Philosophy is nice but...what the heck do you mean?"
Good question!

Here's a metaphor I like that helps people get the picture:
Imagine grocery stores didn't exist and you only had 1 neighbor. Now... you need to eat, and the only food you could ever eat is what you grow in your back yard. You are given a beautiful piece of land with rich soil, an infinite supply of fresh water, and hundreds of absolutely magnificent seeds... to grow countless numbers of vegetables and fruit trees. Are you with me so far? Good. Simple, right?

You are given simple instructions: Plant the seeds in the soil, water them, nurture them, appreciate them... and let them grow.

THAT IS a "Universal Law" A.K.A a Law of Nature: Growth! Understand? Good.

Now...because you are curious and you just feel like it...you decide to ignore the instructions and try growing the seeds your own way... by drowning them in water. Nothing grows, so no food.
You try planting them in the grass and choose not to nurture them, still no luck.. You even try injecting the seed with steroids and sprinkling them with some soil, still nothing grows.

Now your neighbor... who has been following the simple growth principle... sees that you are starving and offers you some food and maybe some advice on how to grow your seeds, seeing that you must have obviously forgotten the SIMPLE instructions for Abundance and Success!! HIS land is RICH with a BEAUTIFUL garden... Growing fruits and vegetables fit for a king AND his court! The environment.. is just so full of life that now many beautiful animals live there! There is so much abundance that he is now living with a lover and they are going to have lots of kids and raise a BIG, Happy family! If heaven exists on this earth, then your neighbor has it!!!

Being so hungry...you can't think straight... and you have become quite BITTER and for some reason are in this "competitive" mind set. Like an idiot, you refuse because you are determined to show him you could do it too. You now have something to prove...The thing is, he doesn't care about that...he's just happy and wants you to be happy, too!

After such a long time of trial and error of your own ideas... you are a wreck. Your environment is dreadful, there is nothing of life...no plants, no trees, no animals, no food, no nothing! For this reason, you are always angry and in a state of lacking, and to survive you steal food from your neighbor. Shame on you...all you're doing is perpetuating your crappy way of life.

Are you seeing the Problem? You live in a world, and you try to go against it's natural order, so how could you reap all it's benefits? Whatever intelligence has designed the world surely can see things from a much bigger picture and so in a sense the natural flow of things is a more ultimate state of being. Just look at your neighbor!

The Solution? Get in harmony!

Why? So you can reap all the benefits (there are so many you can't even imagine from where you are now) that Life really has to offer!

Now of course, I'm not talking about you literally! Just trying to get you in character to hold your attention...

So what does this story have to do with Feng Shui Rules? Think of Feng Shui Rules as "the simple instructions" you were given in the beginning of the story. Remain in Harmony with the Universal Laws and Natural Order of things, and enjoy the best possible life you can!

Wait are you waiting for? Come and change your life, using Feng Shui at This Feng Shui Rules Lens

Enter Feng Shui Paradise

All About Alaska King Crab Fishing

Most people who enjoy a good crab know that Alaskan king crab is synonymous with flavor. Until recently though, most people did not know that Alaskan king crab fishing is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. Why is that? Because "crabbing," as it is called, requires the fishermen to sail out to the deep sea in the heart of winter, which as you can imagine, is also the season of treacherous storms. The season is short and sleep is limited. Compared to the average worker, the fatality rate among the fishermen is about 90 times higher. But to read accounts of crab fishermen is to know that there is an allure to the lifestyle, a connection to the sea that keeps them returning to the icy waters to make their potentially deadly catch.

Though crabs are caught in Russia and in international waters, the most prominent (and sustainable) of king crab fishing occurs off the coast of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. In 1980 the crab fishing industry with at a peak, presenting a catch of over 200 million pounds of crab; however, due to many factors, catches decreased after this year and thus the season was shortened to accommodate regeneration. The harvest now is performed in a very short amount of time and then the catch is shipped worldwide. Recent Alaskan king crab fishing seasons have been as short as 4 days, and can range from one to two weeks.

There are more or less three varieties of king crab that are commercially viable: In Alaska, three species of king crab are caught commercially: the red king crab, the blue king crab, and the golden king crab. Baited with cut fish, steel traps or pots are pushed over the side of a large boat. Each pot is marked with a buoy, which also signifies its owner. Pots are hauled in, at the right time, usually based on gut instinct and years of experience more than an actual science. When full the pots that must be dragged up can weigh well over a ton, presenting a serious risk to the fishermen and their boat. Pots are quickly emptied into the hold of the boat, rebaited, and returned to the ocean floor.

Alaskan king crab fishing is without a doubt a dangerous job, but the fruits of the labor are a delicious treat for the public at large.

Alaska is home to an abundant variety of seafood, and offers some of the purest marine, freshwater, and upland habitats on the planet.

From the clear crystal waters comes seafood that is delicious and healthy. Alaskan seafood is low in fat but big on flavor and Omega-3 oils. You can study thousands of pages of nutritional research. Or, simply observe the amazing health and longevity of people in countries where seafood is the most important part of their diet. Either way, Alaska seafood is as healthy as it is delicious.

Are you are looking for a meal that is low in saturated fat, filled with nutrients and packed with good heart healthy Omega-3s oils? Then you should start with Alaska Seafood.

http://www.alaskaseafood.org

Feng Shui Color Tips

It's very important in Feng Shui to have painted color on your walls in your home and office. Even if you're renting you might be able to make a deal with your landlord that you'll paint the walls back to white when you leave.

Feng Shui is about bringing aspects of nature into your living and working environments. I'm sure you can't disagree that our world is a colorful place. Just think of green grass, blue-green oceans, colorful flowers, the vibrant yellow sun and so on.

It's great to bring these amazing colors of nature indoors and paint them on your walls. Color has been known to improve our moods, stimulate our minds, increase our productivity at work, and even create better physical and mental health. Since color is connected to our energy (chi), the application of color is one of the important adjustments used in Feng Shui.

If you're afraid of painting colors on your walls, start slowly. Add an accent wall to a room and then gradually add more and more color to each room of your home or workspace. Adding color to your environment will give you a colorful life!

Here are 6 color tips.

1. Red stimulates the senses and is associated with strength, joy, motivation and love. This is an exciting and spirited decorating color. It's used to improve blood circulation, the nervous system, to treat anemia and paralysis. Red is a good color to help you feel grounded and secure. Reds must also be used carefully. It can generate anger and may be disturbing to those with mental health problems.

2. Yellow can stimulate joy & wisdom, and is a color that encourages flexibility and adaptability. It can lift your mood, inspire you, and improve your sense of well-being. Yellow has a positive effect on the stomach, intestines, liver, gall bladder, adrenal glands and middle back. This color is also great for helping with releasing fears and anger. Yellow is also the Feng Shui health color.

3. Orange is a happy, social color that inspires creativity, ambition, and energetic activity. If you want to perk up your love life, paint your bedroom a shade of orange. Orange is used to treat a range of problems including lower intestines, kidneys, ovaries, and lower back. This color also helps with creating clear personal boundaries and aids in releasing childhood issues and trauma.

4. Green reminds us of nature and can be both restful and energizing. It's closely linked to healing, and color therapists use it to soothe pain. It can detoxify the body and bring balance to negative and positive energies. It also balances the body, mind and spirit. Green relieves tension in the blood vessels and lowers blood pressure. It oversees the upper back, chest, shoulders, arms, hands and lungs. Green is the color to heal all physical and emotional issues related to the heart.

5. Blue symbolizes inspiration, peace, and tranquility. The color blue is used to treat tension, fear and insomnia. Blue will reduce inflammation. Sky blue is the color associated with throat chakra. It's frequently used for problems occurring in the laryngitis, sore throat, tonsillitis, toothaches, etc. Blues also stimulate communication and spiritual understanding. Research also suggests it may be effective in guided imagery therapies to reduce pain levels. Blue has been used successfully in mental institutions to calm patients.

6. Purple/Violet is associated with connecting us to our higher self. Purples are calming and soothing so this color can create the right atmosphere for meditation. It's a color that oversees the brain, skull, and pituitary functioning. Violet is a beneficial color for psychological disorders such as schizophrenia and manic depression. It also helps sciatica and the spleen. Purple is a royal color and is associated with wisdom and dignity. Purple is also the Feng Shui color for wealth and prosperity.

If you enjoyed this article, you'll love "Feng Shui Made Simple: Room By Room" ebook. Since your home mirrors your life it's important to create an environment that supports your goals and dreams. You have the power to create your best life yet and this book will give you the tools. Click this link to read more about this book: http://tinyurl.com/98rtkb

Have Fun With Your Grandchildren Without Breaking Your Back

In previous decades, the bond between grandparents and grandkids was strong. It was not surprising to see little kids flock around their grampas or grammas and listen to interesting stories about the war or about fairies, heroes, legends and almost everything under the sun. But along with the popularity of the television, Internet and video consoles, the generation gap between grandparents and grandkids had started to become wider.

However, despite the seeming impossibility of bridging the generation divide between kids and their grandparents, there are actually a lot of things you can do about it. The first thing grand dads and moms need to do is to be more aware of the latest technological advancements enjoyed by the youth of today. Knowledge about what children are interested nowadays would help seniors break the ice with the little ones.

Creative ideas and fun activities are always the best when grampas or grammas want to lure the kids into spending fun moments with them. In order to achieve this, however, seniors need to maintain their imagination and continue to become physically active.

If you want to be a cool grandparent and would want your grandkids to have fantastic time with you every time you are together, you might want to consider the following activities:

Collect Things Together

Since it may be difficult to play hoops with your very active grandkids, you can share their love for sports by being a treasure throve of information or trivia about their favorite sport or athletes. Watching a live baseball game with them or attending their school games would really help you score big points with your grandkids.

If your little ones are interested more on trivia and not in playing games, you can probably bond with them by collecting basketball caps, jersey, and trading cards, among other things. By bringing them to book signing sessions and to libraries or museums that cater to their interests, you would be building a stronger bond with them without breaking your back or dislocating your shoulders.

Have A Hobby Or Craft

Woodworks, insect and rock collecting, science experiments are some of the hobbies and crafts that you may want to have with your male grandchildren. For the little girls, you can probably teach them to sew, create a scrapbook of your family, or make fancy jewelries and other girly stuff. Photography, painting, pottery and bird watching are also hobbies that would interest your grand kids, both boys and girls alike.

Try To Play With Them

Do not ever think that playing puzzles, toy cars, role playing and assembling Legos are juvenile activities that you would not enjoy with the kids. If you really want to have an idea on what interests your grandchildren, as well as on how to guide them in making the right choices, you need to get involved with them without getting too smothering.

Venture Outdoors

Going for a hike, playing in the park, visiting zoos, taking picnics and having nature trips are outdoor activities that you and your grandchildren will definitely enjoy. Planting trees and tending to your garden are some other activities you could share with the little ones outdoors.

Since kids nowadays are always cooped indoors with their video consoles, DVD, television and computer, inviting them to bask under the sun during spring and summer can really be good for their health too. However, before you take them to such activities, you have to make sure that you are physically fit and strong enough to be responsible for their safety while they are with you.

Arthritis and joint pains should not hinder you from having fun with your adorable grandkids. There are many natural supplements, including Flexcerin, that are safer and effective not only in easing pain but also in improving the health of your joints.

To know more about Flexcerin, simply go to http://www.flexcerin.com/

Janet Martin is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and published author. Many of her insightful articles can be found at the premiere online news magazine http://www.thearticleinsiders.com

How Hemorrhoids Can Be Treated Easily at Home

There are many ways on how to treat hemorrhoids, but more often than not, people will choose the easiest solution. In this case, that solution happens to be a home-based treatment that many will enjoy. Believe it or not, one way to get rid of them involves materials that are extremely easy to acquire.

The process is simple. First of all, one must fill up a bathtub, or a relatively large container, with lukewarm water. This will need to be done over and over, so it is best to have a large water supply on hand. Secondly, the person with hemorrhoids will have to put aside some time each day to soak in that water for at least fifteen to twenty minutes. Yes, it is as relaxing as it sounds!

It has been proven that this method is effective, although it will take a few days before the pain vanishes completely. Some doctors even recommend adding a bit of iodine to the water to make the healing process faster. The water will help one relax in all sorts of ways, loosening the muscles and therefore reducing strain on the anus. Soon, the irritation and itching will disappear.

The best part about that method it is an easy way out on how to treat hemorrhoids. One need not spend a lot on a surgery or on medicine, for that will do the trick. It will also help a person relax and enjoy resting, while having a soothing, long-lasting bath. Who could say no to such a satisfying way on how to treat hemorrhoids?

Spending why too much on water and want to know How To Treat Hemorrhoids then Click Here Now!

Knowing the Lucky House Numbers in Feng Shui For Luck

House numbers in feng shui have been one of the most revered and sacred information from this famed and authentic Chinese tradition. Such is the power and forcefulness of these house numbers in the art of feng shui that even real estate and property selling is influenced by the house numbers in Chinese based localities and in areas where the art of feng shui is looked up to as an idealistic and impressive art form.

According to the art of feng shui, a house number may not only affect your life, but also of every person's life you come in contact with. Inauspicious numbers are harbingers of bad luck, while auspicious numbers are a sign of happiness and joy to come into your life. The interpretations of feng shui as to which numbers are auspicious and which house numbers are inauspicious are calculated by several methods. It includes the equations and calculations involving the five feng shui elements and the ever charismatic elements of yin and yang.

The five elements of feng shui includes the Fire, Earth, Wood, Metal and Water elements that help you recognize and channelize the natural forces of energy. The yin-yang is the balancing force of the universe according to feng shui theory. Yin is the feminine symbol while yang is masculine. Feng shui maintains that both should be equally present in the house to attain eternal energy. In the case of house numbers in feng shui, both of the above discussed entities of feng shui contribute.

Even in the business of real estate and property sales in China, Hong Kong and other Chinese populated states, feng shui house selling is dominant. A house or property with an auspicious house number according to feng shui will conventionally and regularly beat a house with an inauspicious number in selling prices. This happens even though the latter may be ten times better than the former as far as area, space or luxuries are concerned.

The auspicious or unlucky quality of a house number in feng shui is not equal to the world's viewpoint on lucky and unlucky numbers. To the western world number '13' is unlucky but its lucky as per feng shui is concerned. This is because the number 13 sounds like 'sure live' implying long life! Similarly number 4 is unlucky according to feng shui as it sounds like 'dead'!

Therefore, even though house numbers in feng shui influence people in choosing their residential accommodation, it actually has more to do with the psychology of people than the ancient Chinese tradition.

Vincent Yim is the founder of http://TropicalHomeImprovementIdeas.com he created this home improvement blog is aimed to provide a FREE guide or tips to homeowners to convert the house into a unique home. Just follow his weblog regularly, you can save yourself from making the usual mistakes that others often do.

Porcupine Tree

Every time you hear a name, some notion, significance or even idea goes through your mind. So what goes through yours when you hear the name Porcupine Tree? Rock, metal, psychedelia and influences from other trends-like Pink Floyd-are the genres associated with this British band that was formed in the late 80's. Well equipped and financially able, Steve Wilson, the founder of the band, started this venture as a hobby and released his first album, The Seaweed Farm. This album laid a stepping stone for the band, propelling them to fame and leading to the release of more successful albums.

The group's combination of different music styles in their albums saw their popularity grow by leaps and bounds such that demand for 'On The Sunday Of Life', an album they had promoted as a limited edition, was overwhelming. Pressure from growing demand by ardent fans, saw them go back to the studio and reproduce it in CD version. This was a step in the right direction by the mere fact that they had sold more than 20,000 copies by the year 2000.

Porcupine Tree, with the skills they had perfected over the years by experimenting with different music styles, ventured into a new phase that gave their fans series of live performances. They started with concerts around Europe and later made appearances in other parts of the world.

To date, the Porcupine Tree band continues to bask in the limelight of fame and continue to grace major music festivals and events organized for rock fans. While 'piano Lessons', 'Pure Narcotic', and 'Stranger by The Minute', were singles that added on to their fame and finances, 2007 saw them release two more albums and perform at many events.

Peter Gitundu Researches and Reports on Trees. For More Information on Porcupine Tree, Visit His Site at PORCUPINE TREE You Can Also Add Your Views About Porcupine Tree On My Blog Here PORCUPINE TREE

Pure Distilled Water

Pure distilled water is generally free from all impurities and all sorts of toxics that can be found in the taps of your home. It is use in many different ways in our everyday life. It is not only use for drinking but also it can also be use in various chemical and biological experiments in the lab. It is highly recommend to every individuals to drink as it is totally purified from any contaminants even chlorine. This is why it is great for the skin as it is free from any contaminants which would block the microscopic pores of skin.

It is being use on large scale of consumption as it has been purified from all the virtually solid impurities as well as any other liquid contaminants mixed with the water that might cause certain illnesses or create harmful effect in the human body.

Pure distilled water is also primarily marketed for drinking purposes. Besides drinking, there are also other uses of distilled water in and out from the house which you may be interested in. Recommended by some experts, it is usually use in making baby food, food for pets, plant and as well as aquariums. Pure distilled water is being used in these areas because it is generally free from any harmful elements. This type is highly recommenced in making baby food because babies are very sensitive to water borne diseases. Hence to prevent it, pure distilled water is being use. Same goes with giving pets and plants to consume. The usage of pure distilled water is recommended in aquariums as well as watering the plants if you want your fish to live longer and have healthy looking plants. This is because pure distilled water is free of any contaminants.

It is also use in made in storage of contact lenses and for washing of wounds during surgery. Our body's internal organ are being exposed to air when the skin is being cut in a surgery, therefore it is necessary to keep it clean so that nothing unwanted penetrates inside. Since pure distilled water is free from all this unwanted contaminants, it is the best choice in this situation.

We use more than we realise it in our everyday life. The benefits is not only something that human can enjoy but also it is diversify to other users such as domestic usage as well as non-domestic usage.

Drink distilled water today! Find out more about distilled waters and the health benefits it brings by visiting our website for more information ==> http://www.distilled-waters.com

Feng Shui Your Life For a Happy Year

Whether you're ready or not a new year has arrived. With all it's promise and hope, we have begun a new calendar year.

This is the perfect time to clear the clutter from your home and your life to make sure that 2009 flows the way you want it to.

Living in one place for a long time we tend to gather lots of things that eventually get stuck in drawers and the back of closets, taking up space and filling our homes with "clutter energy".

Clutter Energy is that feeling of unease that seems to be saying, "do something, anything, just DO Something"!

Starting off the new year by clearing out this energy opens the door for a more positive flow of feelings, thoughts and new things to move in.

Start of by committing to release at least 50 things in a 24 hour period.

I know that sounds like a lot, but once you get going you'll discover that it's quick and easy.

Get two boxes or garbage bags, fill one with items that you can donate if you like and the other is just trash.

Start in the "junk drawer" in the kitchen. How much stuff have you crammed there thinking you would eventually use it and never have? Release it and enjoy the feeling that comes with letting go.

Move on to other drawers in the kitchen. Release old butter tubs that you just have too many of.

Got more coffee cups than the cabinets can hold? Let these go as well.

Go through the rest of the house letting go of magazines, stashes of papers and the like.

Next get into your room. Do you have clothes that don't fit, you don't like and haven't worn in over a year? Let em go.

Dig through the closet and the drawers. All socks with holes go into the bag. Undies that ride or scratch, into the bag.

Let go of shoes too. We tend to hold onto things because, "I paid good money for those", or "someone gave these to me".

Let yourself breathe.

As you do the clearing out of physical things from your space be aware of thoughts and habits that you have that don't serve you as well. Are you still holding onto grudges and old hurts and insults? Let these go as you move through the house releasing stuff.

When you have your fifty items in 24 hours and are still on a roll, commit to another fifty. Take on the garage, holiday decorations, etc. Move through the yard and release anything that's just taking up space and not giving you that feel good feeling it did when you first placed it there.

By doing this exercise you are not only creating a better look and feel to your home, you are opening your life to release old emotions, pain and stinking thinking.

When you combine the physical exercise of clearing out stuff with the spiritual aspect of clearing out thinking and feelings, you will restore balance and harmony in your life.

By instilling this process into your thinking for the new year, you will be less likely to hold onto excess stuff and hurtful feelings, letting go much easier and cluttering up your energy much less.

Happy New Year.. create each day with joy!

Donna DeVane is a certified spiritual healer, life coach, author and teacher. Her passion is helping others live empowered lives through her books, classes and one on one sessions.

Her website brings you Reiki healing energy stones, crystals and jewelry. http://www.healing-with-stones-crystals.com

http://www.DonnaDeVane.com You may contact Donna through her websites for further information on life coaching/healing sessions and for teleseminars.

Mold in Your Home - What to Do?

Oh, Poor Moldy Me! Or The Canary in the Coal Mine Speaks

No need to hire a mold inspector. Just send me, Amy Gray, into any area you suspect of having mold, and I'll come back with an instant report. As in the form of a splitting headache.

I don't get headaches that often. So if one quick trip into a damp, moldy, basement turns me into a migraine case, imagine what it is doing to your health on a day to day basis.

Let's backtrack just a wee bit. What is mold? Why is it in my house? And how the heck do I get rid of it?

Mold is everywhere. Just like dust mites. Outdoors, molds play an important role in breaking down dead organic material such as leaves. Indoors, mold can cause allergic reactions, asthma, eye irritation and as mentioned above, headaches. Continuous exposure to mold can create serious health problems.

Since mold spores are airborne and can be carried by house dust, the question then becomes: how do I make my house unfriendly to mold?

Answer: Control Indoor Moisture.

If you have mold growing on firewood, furniture, walls, refrigerators, in the heating or ventilation system or anywhere else, it is very important to act fast. The longer mold grows on something, the more damage it can cause to that item. And if it's in your heating or air system, it's flying all over your house on a regular basis.

I remember a client telling me he was setting aside some upholstered furniture to be used later inside his house. I asked to see where the furniture was stored. As we opened the leaky garden shed, the blast of mold breath was overwhelming. Inside, a version of mold Woodstock was taking place on formerly nice couches and chairs. Now they were bedecked with interesting patterns of white, black and orange mold designs.

Places that have water in them on a regular basis - such as bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms and basements - are a good first place to look for signs of mold. Walls that show water stains can be an accurate indicator that there is a leak somewhere and mold is most probably present.

For a very helpful site on mold, visit http://www.epa.gov/mold/index.html.
Our local American Lung Association has a program called the Master Health Environmentalist where you can sign up for a free home inspection to see if your home has airborne irritants, including mold, that may impact your health.

As the weather turns wet, keep your eyes open for mold. Or just call me in. But please have some aspirin handy.

Interested in more ways to clear clutter and gain control of your environment? Get great tips and motivating messages by subscribing to the Empty Your Nest newsletter at http://www.emptyyournest.com You can also download our free EBook: The Getting Started Workbook: Overcoming Fear, Procrastination and Overwhelm When Starting an Organizing Project. Just follow the link on the home page at http://www.emptyyournest.com

The Chinese Dragon Tortoise

Dragons and tortoises are two of the most powerful symbols in Chinese mythology. The Dragon itself stands for many things. Wealth, fertility, positive energy and immortality are but a few of the symbolic meanings. The Dragon is a positive influence, most often a benevolent creature in Chinese mythology, unlike the fire-breathing evil dragons as portrayed in Western mythology.

The tortoise represents longevity, of steadfast effort, of deliberate action that inevitably leads to success. The combination of the Dragon and Tortoise combines the qualities of both animals into a potent symbol of success and longevity.

The Dragon tortoise is portrayed with the head of a dragon and the body of a tortoise. There is usually a small turtle on the back of the tortoise shell, and the dragon tortoise is standing on a pile of coins and precious metal ingots. There is very often a coin in the dragon's mouth.

This symbol is used in Feng Shui for decorating homes and offices. Because of the incredible energy this symbol represents, it is recommended that it not be placed in any room of rest, such as a bedroom. Have the painting or figurine of the dragon tortoise hanging on or near the east wall of the room it is used in. Any area that is used as an office is a good place for a dragon tortoise. Also any area that creative work or research is done is a good place for one.

Whether represented in a painting, or a figurine of wood, metal, crystal or stone, the Dragon Tortoise symbolizes good fortune and longevity.

Alan Beggerow is a free lance writer. Visit his writing services website, Ghostwriter, at http://www.ghostwriterboo.blogspot.com

Creating Optimal Health

In order to create optimal health one must choose optimal healthy foods. Makes sense right? A side note: I didn't know for the first thirty (30) years of my life. So, what are optimal healthy foods?

Optimal healthy foods from my thirty (30) study of macrobiotics are plant foods that have sustained the continued evolution of animals for over 3.2 billion years culminating in grain. As one of the lines in my limerick says, "Use your brain eat grain."

Order and structure over billions of years, selecting and eating biologically correct foods have given modern man (an animal) a fantastic, wonderful body and mind. We have to understand this in order to comprehend just what foods are necessary for the continued survival of this beautiful creature we call man and/or woman. The answer is quite simple. GRAIN. Currently grain is the primary food of mankind on this planet and is the food for re-structuring our body and mind. Of course, I'm assuming here that most of us (myself include) have lost our way and cannot understand how our bodies and mind have gone off the track with processed foods, especially white sugar and white flour and white creamy foods like ice cream and dairy and cheese. I'm so grateful for Michio Kushi for bringing this teaching to the United States.

In my way of thinking from the evolution of plant and animals I have discovered that eating everyday a recapitulation of the 3.2 billion year evolution of plants is the food for optimal health. It's the food mother nature has provided for us. It is very orderly and well structured as one can obviously see in the farmer's fields: grain, vegetables, beans, seeds and nuts, giving humanity endless sources of food! Contrast that to any man made manufactured or processed food and see chaos and ill-defined structure. Think a twink: lifeless, soft and mushy.

It is well worth repeating: You will achieve optimal health when you learn how to select or choose the foods you need for optimal health. To find out more go to any macrobiotic book, lecture, cooking class or dinner. And one more thing.....HAVE FUN...enjoy the trip to optimal health.

David Snieckus
99 Crescent Street
Newton, MA 02466
617-964-2951
http://www.davidsnieckus.com

Feng Shui Colors For Rooms

Feng shui embodies the artistic creation of staging our surroundings in order to correspond to the current of naturally occurring energy coming from the universe. Clutter, darkness, unconventional use of colours, and other emotional factors that direct a negative subject matter and a lot pf additional elements contribute to breaking this energetic balance or the chi. This is among the reasons for which feng shui enthusiasts will emphasise so a great deal of the importance of feng shui colors for rooms whether at home or at the office. Even when feng shui principles are soundly abided by the one and only matter that remains to be acted upon is to implement these principles in accordance with the disposition of the household dwellers.

Therefore, the correct feng shui colours for rooms depend upon the purpose of that specific division of the home. Bedrooms for example function better in pale, more relaxing colours like blues, greens, lavender, pink and any shades more or less the colour of the skin from white to cocoa brown. Brilliant colours will never work in a resting place. One inevitably needs to go for the vibrant touch in the feng shui colours for rooms while decorating the work niche which could be the study, the sitting room and even the kitchen. Deciding on combinations of energizing colours wherever you find the need for inspiration will give you the energy you need and still have a calming effect.

Therefore, orangish and yellowish colours are the feng shui colours for rooms wherever concentration and activity call for an encouraging boost. For the extremely personal room, pink found in the class of deep fuchsia is fantastic since it indicates attachment and heightens romantic intuitive feelings and passions. Keeping in mind the reality that every colour creates a statement and although some give the impulse to boldness and love, others lead to serenity and peace of mind. The chi flowing in one's home is the final result not entirely of the deliberate choice of feng shui colours for rooms but also the combined essence of furnishings, pieces of furniture, designing lines and particularly the personality of the household dwellers ultimately.

The feng shui colours for rooms could be combined according to the Ba-Gua, the eight-grid chart that takes into consideration the central points, the five components and their corresponding colors. For each division of a room, a certain colour establishes dominance and intensifies a positive chi flow. Be sure to take a look at such a feng shui colour graph in order to better ascertain the interior design. Acknowledgment must be made that it is a lot easier to establish the combinations when decorating or re-decorating than afterwards. The contours and shapes of the objects and the manner in which the light falls on certain corners likewise affects the positive or negative chi flow; so be sure to touch on these aspects as well for the most beneficial of outcomes.

Feng Shui Colors For Rooms will help give you an understanding of how better to use colors and design to help achieve an emotional balance in your everyday decor.
This will lead to enhanced creativity and productivity in all areas of your life.

Kimberly Aita

http://fengshui-fengshui-now.info

http://fengshui-fengshui-now.com

Learn More about FengShui just visit my website at the above link

How to Take Care of Yourself Too!

First thing I have to say is that everything anyone has ever said about grandparenting, is true! You really get to do all the fun things you did with your kids as they discovered the world around them, only it's in a never ending state of "now". Otherwise known as timelessness. All the challenges of being a parent, are so joyously absent in being a grandparent. It's just pure Joy.

As a retired nurse (after thirty plus years) I have to say that some of my greatest lessons in life have been learned since becoming a grandmother. I've learned that spending time with my little grandbaby is like making time stand still. I've learned that when I'm being "silly grammy" in whatever way that I can, just so I can see and hear her little belly-laugh, ... that it's so infectious, I laugh just as hard .... and that makes her laugh even harder! Watching her discover something for the first time, or finally mastering something she's been working so hard to learn, is truly an event! An event worthy of a "standing ovation" every time. :) It's such a privilege to be involved in your grandchildren's lives. And so good for grandchildren to have their grandparents close by.

Yes, It's our time and our love that is everything to our grandkids, but I also want to be here with them on this planet, in the very best health and shape I can be. In the end, I want to have been a good example of how to caretake a body, mind, and spirit, at any age! Now there is where a little extra income will come in handy. So I'm getting an education on how to go about taking good care of me financially too!

I'm a senior and I don't mind saying, that I don't always learn things as quickly as I used to, so it was very important to me that it should be a program showing me exactly what to do and where, "step by step".

If you feel the same as I do, then go to: http://DirectionsToMoney.com and get educated too! The time couldn't be better, to bring in an extra income with minimal expenditure of time on your part, because time is very precious for us grandparents!

Sincerely,

"Grammy G"

Is Ketchup Really a Vegetable?

Dean of American storytellers and host of National Public Radio's Prairie Home Companion, Garrison Keillor frequently refers to an imaginary sponsor of his radio program, The Ketchup Advisory Board. Every story line for The Ketchup Advisory Board features a dialogue between husband and wife Jim and Barb in which they discuss the emptiness of their successful lives. In every vignette the key to spiritual satisfaction is found in ketchup, as in the following approximation of the original dialog:

Jim: All you really need is ketchup. Ketchup fills that emptiness between the burger of our heart and the spiritual bun. It has natural mellowing agents that make you realize that, for people in our situation, we're doing pretty well. This is as good as it gets.
Barb: Oh, Jim!
Singer offstage: These are the good years so let us all give thanks.
We have a roof above our head, even though it is the bank's.
Life is flowing like ketchup on your franks.
Announcer: Ketchup. For the good times.
Singer: Ketchup! Ketchup!

After I had listened to Prairie Home Companion for many years, one day it occurred to me to research the question of whether ketchup really contains "natural mellowing agents" as Keillor's comedy troupe alludes on their show.

I was shocked to learn that it does. In 2001, scientists at the Institut fr Pharmazie und Lebensmittelchemie in Wrzburg, Germany published a report on "carbohydrate-derived beta-carbolines in food." Beta-carbolines increase the flow of tryptophan into the brain. The brain uses tryptophan to make serotonin, a mood chemical that relieves depression, energizing the brain to enable sensible choices in life. Beta-carbolines do not, however, cause the brain to make so much serotonin that mania results. The German scientists, perhaps following the lead of Garrison Keillor, found that highest concentrations of beta-carbolines are provided by ketchup, soy sauce, and fermented fish.

Read about Appetite, Aroma & Sex Robert Rister is the author or co-author of nine books on natural health including the critically acclaimed Complete German Commission E Monographs and Healing without Medication.

Chi Spot Feng Shui Tips

Knock, Knock. Do You Know Where Your Front Door Is?

When I am contacted to conduct a Feng Shui consultation, looking at front entrances to the property is a main focus. Often what shows up as the familys favorite entrance are garages, hidden entrances and doors placed in what has become an inconvenient location over the years as practicality carved out a shorter path. In these situations, the front door is seldom used.

Feng Shui encourages regular use of the front door, known as the mouth of chi. The front door represents your public face and is believed to provide the path for abundance, prosperity and well-being to enter.

A clean, well-lit front entrance provides a beneficial welcome to anyone who enters. It lifts the chi as well as ones mood and sets the tone for all things good inside.

You may find it more convenient to enter your home through a garage or utility room instead of the front door. Certainly, there are benefits to entering your home where you are protected from the elements, can easily access the kitchen and kick off your shoes.

Should your home be one where the public entrance is not visible, ask yourself what is being hidden? Perhaps the front door entrance trails along the wooden footpath and dodges to the left into a dark, yin area. This entrance type is not conducive to a vibrant flow of life force.

Feng Shui adjustments to ensure proper chi flow into your home include regular use of the front door, well-groomed shrubs and clear footing. Above all, if you desire to use an alternative entrance be certain to enhance its beauty. Be mindful to have these spaces cheerful, clean and not utilized as a chaotic collection of cast-offs.

YARROW
102 Roosevelt Court, Annapolis MD 2403
410.626.1316
yarrow@FengShuiAtTheBay.com
http://www.FengShuiAtTheBay.com

Yarrow maintains that it is all about energy. She began exploring energy in the 70's utilizing at-hand knowledge of Native American traditions, awareness of life experiences, holding the question of what is really going on & applying this knowledge to her own life. Her curiosity of energy evolved into the study & practice of Feng Shui in 2001. Yarrow is a contributing author to the womens anthology: The Spirit of Women Entrepreneurs Real-life Stories of Determination, Growth & Prosperity. She is available for public speaking engagements.

Yarrow is a freelance writer & a graduate of a three-year PsychoSynthesis course out of Berkeley, California. She writes for Taste of the Bay Magazine, Lilipoh Magazine (global distribution) & other periodicals. She has studied with Australian Author Eric Dowsett, Rev. Lin Yun, Karen Kingston, Steven Post & other leaders. Additionally, she studied with Canadian Author Oriah Mountain Dreamer.

Stay Home and Prepare a Sexy Valentine's Meal For Your Beloved

My mother told me a story last Valentine's Day about how when they were young, my father, looking to impress his young wife, took her to a fancy Beverly Hills restaurant on Valentine's Day.

"It was crowded, noisy and the waiters were stressed and over worked" she said.

And I bet it cost my father a pretty penny, too!

Food can be one of life's most sensuous delights. In addition, many foods, like asparagus, seafood, saffron, vanilla and chocolate, are traditionally believed to have aphrodisiacal qualities. So instead of busting your budget to spend the evening in an overbooked restaurant this Valentine's Day, why not have fun creating a tasty meal of luxurious treats for you and your beloved to enjoy at home.

Take in all the sensory pleasures food has to offer- not only taste, but the visual beauty of juicy red strawberries, the snap of a crispy bread stick as you bite into it. Explore the textures, mouth feel, and smells. Include lots of little nibbles that you can eat with your fingers and feed to one another. Include foods that are touted for their aphrodisiac qualities-a variety of seafood (one of the front runners in that category) like shrimp and baby lobster tails dipped in unctuous drawn butter, asparagus with saffron aioli, and for dessert, deep dark chocolate for dipping those strawberries and rich, creamy truffles.

Fill the room with candlelight, soft music, and crack open a bottle of champagne- a must! You could be really adventurous and blindfold each other as you pop treats into one another's mouths.

Keep it light, though, so you'll be ready for any other of the evening's activities that may come up.

Gisele Perez is the owner of small pleasures catering in Los Angeles, CA where she specializes in creating wonderful feasts to help her clients celebrate the special days in their lives. She also occasionally blogs as the LA to LA Chef on New Orleans, Los Angeles, food and other related topics that strike her fancy. Please visit her at either http://www.smallpleasurescatering.com or at painperdu@blogstream.com

Windex and Food: Imperfect Together!

As tempting as it may be to use, Windex or any similar type product can be a hazard to use in the vicinity of food products, particularly cutting boards. If you do not have the proper sanitizer available, a certain secret common household item will suffice. Please read on to find out how you can keep your guests safe!

Our web community for business flight attendants can be frequently found discussing proper food handling and food safety tips. One lively discussion a few years back surrounded the proper way of cleaning a cutting board. Might I add that the food preparing area of the typical business jet galley is about the size of a two-by-four? Thus, food can easily get into contact with the wrong products if extra care is not taken.

In the conversation, one of our members remarked that she had cleaned her cutting board with Windex. Well, the ensuing responses to her comment nearly caused an online riot as many of our veteran fliers responded by emphatically stating that products such 409, Fantastik, and Windex can all be harmful if ingested. These and similar products contain high levels of white spirits or similar type toxins, something you never want your guests to come in contact with. These products typically carry warning labels that say something like the following, Do not ingest even in small quantities. Non-food safe.

Our beloved and uniformed newbie member was aghast, not at the replies, but at realizing that she had cleaned her cutting boards not once, not twice, but at the very least four or five times using Windex! Although no illnesses were reported because of her error, she quickly amended her cleaning methods from that point forward to use a special sanitizer designed for the safe cleaning of her cutting board. Naturally, all of our members were thankful that she was no longer a potential poisoner of the jet set crowd.

So, just what is that little secret common household item that can be used when the proper cleaning agent is no longer available? Actually, there are two: diluted white wine vinegar or . . . vodka! Yes, vodka can be used, but it does have the tendency of altering the taste of subsequent dishes . . . not necessarily a bad thing, but it does leave a residue. The recommendation, of course, is to have white wine vinegar on hand if a sanitizer is not readily available.

Please, please use the previously recommended cleaning agents only on surfaces that do not come into contact with food. You may not kill your guests, but you can certainly make them very ill by using the inappropriate products.

Matthew Keegan is the owner of a successful article writing, web design, and marketing business based in North Carolina, USA. He manages several sites including the Corporate Flight Attendant Community and the Aviation Employment Board. Please visit The Article Writer to review selections from his portfolio.

Creating Online Marketing Strategies in Plain English

As the economic crisis continues to affect small to medium sized businesses, the marketing focus has turned to cost effective strategies that provide ROI to meet specific organizational objectives/goals or KPIs. Each organisation has its own specific and unique objectives ranging from lead generation to revenue growth, improvements to market share or simply higher online/offline visibility (top-of-mind awareness).

Undoubtedly, the most visible and cost effective marketing tool that you possess is your business website. The main URL address, the links, content, functionality etc.. all have a specific 24/7 objectives to match your organizational goals.

A well constructed website with high ranking key terms in the natural search engine (Google, Yahoo, MSN), appropriate content, linkages and suitable levels of online advertising can and will provide you with quality leads and higher levels of customer acquisition and conversions (sales, downloads, e-commerce).

Creating an online Marketing Strategy

1. The first thing you need to do is develop a strategic plan specific to YOUR business. This means you need to define your goals and tailor a strategy specific to each of your target markets.

2. Each target audience will also require a dedicated communication strategy to ensure online conversion. This may require you to test the usability of your website in various versions and continuing to make changes to your online presence based on these results. Google offer a wonderful array of lab tools to assist you. It is worth register your business with Google Adwords and Yahoo just to gain access to the tool!

3. Ensuring that your website is found requires a combination of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), integrated online & offline marketing (such as advertising, Pay Per Click, Adwords etc), effective use of your customer database or purchase of appropriate databases, online newsletters, email campaigns and sms/s to your customer databases, affiliate marketing opportunities (including shared links with suitable partners), knowing who your competitors are, what they do differently, how they transact online and benchmarking various aspects of your online business against theirs. There is a complete myriad of cost-effective online marketing strategies that are available to you, all of which aim to achieve goal objectives and communicate the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) that makes your business the primary customer target. YOU NEED TO BECOME ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT SEO AND SEM!

4. Reducing the bounce rate of your website will increase the chances that customers will visit each of your online pages and result in a higher probability that conversion will take place. It is all very well having a great looking website, but if takes too long to download or it is uninteresting, does not answer the question or solve a customer need, it is all to no avail. So, you need to ensure that the content of your website offers a benefit. It may be as simple as testing a variety of online banners that each show a various offer or a link to anther page that will convince the customer to click through and ultimately convert to a sale or download or whatever your specific goal may be.

5. When you visit your local department store, you walk through the isles. Here you will notice that products are placed at specific heights, in specific locations at specific price points. It is all about the EXPERIENCE. Similarly, people who visit online websites are a fairly savvy crowd. Stop thinking they are not! They want an experience. They want to learn. They want a great deal. They want to EXPLORE. Your website can have the greatest offers, but if it is not believable, if it is just full of hot air or it does not deliver (the fulfillment factor), has too much fine print or it does not deliver a result in a suitable timeframe, then everything you do and the money you spend is just wasted! So take your time, think about the placement and value of your content, the architecture of your website and its primary purpose. Have empathy with the customer and watch our sales and leads grow exponentially!

6. Do something different. Do not just do what your competitors are doing. Stop doing the same old tried and tested marketing campaigns. People get bored with that! Create a point of difference for your business or a compelling offer. Use your online market to create organic growth for your business and reap the rewards of an effective online marketing campaign.

For more information on online marketing and how we can help you to achieve RESULTS visit our main website for contact details. Comments and queries are welcome.

Marketing World Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia
http://www.marketingworld.com.au
http://www.marketingworld.com.au/blog/

Rights For Grandparents - Custody, Access and Your Rights As Grandparents

Obtaining the correct information about rights for grandparents is the first step in the sometimes murky waters of child custody when grandparents feel they do not have a voice concerning their grandchildren. Having the knowledge of the current situation in family and custody laws will reduce the amount of emotional stress so often associated with grandparents rights cases. In many cases of divorce or the fracture of relationships between a mothers and fathers, grandparents and their relationships with the grandchildren are the last to be considered and are very often ignored completely.

Fortunately, in all fifty states, grandparents are considered by the family courts to be an important part of a child's immediate family and current laws reflect that the courts have changed how they view the importance of grandparents and their relationships with grandchildren. In divorce as is often the case, one parent is awarded custody with the custodial parent very often removing all access for the parents of the non-custodial parent. Or in some cases, a child may be in a unsafe environment with grandparents greatly distressed about the safety of their grandchildren.

Although the courts are favorable toward grandparents seeking to maintain a relationship or gain custody of their grandchildren, it is very important that a history of involvement be established that can be documented. Divorce and the disintegration of the family is very difficult for all parties involved with grandparents usually receiving the least amount of consideration. Knowing your rights as grandparents and exercising these rights can have a positive impact and reduce the amount of emotional damage very often associated with children of divorce or the loss of one or more parents.

Because the courts now consider grandparents to be an important part of a child's family structure, grandparents now have more access and more importantly, a voice in the welfare of their grandchildren. There is no need to feel helpless or bullied when at no other time have grandparents had a stronger voice within the legal system.

Knowing and understanding how the current legal system works in child custody is very important, especially to grandparents who feel they are being denied access to their grandchildren. You can learn more by visiting http://www.grandparents-rights.info and find out what you need to know about rights for grandparents.

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The Power of the Feng Shui Colors

Feng shui is basically the art of incorporating happiness and prosperity in a home by making some changes in the house of office. And according to feng shui, one thing that has lots of influence in your day to day luck is the color around you. With the right knowledge of colors, you will be able to incorporate harmony in your house and working space. Basically, feng shui colors are based on the five elements, water, fire, wood, earth and metal.

Water is represented by the colors black and blue, and all its shades. So if you want more of water in your room, you can do so by adding as much of these colors in the room as possible. Wood is an element that is represented by all the shades of green. So if you want more of wood in your home, it can be achieved by either painting the room green or by adding as many green objects to the room as possible. Fire is the element that is represented by red, maroon and pink. So the more objects or paint of this color there is in the room, the more of fire that is incorporated in the room.

Now, here are some more tips of incorporating luck and prosperity in life with the help of feng shui and the colors associated with the remaining two elements. According to feng shui, the colors associated with the element earth are orange, brown and yellow. The colors representing the element metal are silver, gold, white and gray. So if you want more of metal in your home, instead of painting things these colors, you could consider placing statues of these colors or perhaps gold or silver paintings.

It is left to you to decide what changes you intend to make in the colors of your home to get more of the respective elements. Besides the things placed and found inside your home, feng shui states that the house position also determines the colors that have to be used in its exterior. Houses facing south should be painted gray, blue or white while those houses facing SW should be painted either red or earth shades. The houses facing west have to be painted blue or green while houses facing north have to have green or red shades incorporated in them. In case your home faces NE, then paint it earth shades or red and if it faces east or SE, make sure that it is painted in metal or earth shades. By following these color tips in feng shui in your home for better prosperity, you will soon find luck favoring you.

http://thefengshuitips.com

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Feng Shui and Your Homes

Everybody in the world wants to achieve harmony in the home or in anyplace they are staying. Harmony is achieved when the right energy flow is done. Feng shui as the principle that shows you this achievement of harmony will also bring a positive energy flow in the environment. The arrangement of things in your home can bring negative energy, so that's why feng shui is here to help. The placement of things that gives positive energy is the goal. Don't confuse yourself as it is for decorating purposes only.

Feng shui in translation means wind and water. Wind in the ancient time is said to carry energy consequently changing and transforming nature. Water is said to trap energy thus it represents constancy. There must be a balance between this two to attain harmony and rhythm in the home.

It's living with nature and not opposing to it. We know very well that we can greatly benefit out of nature. Our environment is helping us to live, so there must be harmony in all aspects. Physical and emotional characteristics affect our lives and how we live in our home. Beauty is what we need in our surroundings and we should not damage the balance in our homes through things that brings misfortune.

Some people may think that this is just a waste of time, but there's no harm in trying. Either way, if it proves to be true then it's a gain for you. Feng shui only teaches the homeowners how to put things in perspective, making it possible for positive energy to stay in the home. There are different unbalanced situations in the home. One of which is how to arrange everything in the bedroom so problems may possibly not occur. If there's trouble between lovers in the bedroom, few things might be move so as to keep the bedroom energy flowing. Yes, there is positive energy in the bedroom. There is energy everywhere in the home.

They say that we have to associate feng shui with architectural planning before making an establishment. Some architects doesn't support this they say that the law of physics is still important for them and not metaphysical principles.

We always wonder and hope for balance and harmony to flow in our homes. It is essential to keep the family in tact after all the years together. Living a harmonious life can lead to vast experiences of luck and prosperous future. The blessings we long for and the chance to provide ourselves a flourishing life is made possible through feng shui. Feng shui is ideal for using the environment or nature, working together with you.

Feng shui is not telling you to trust them but it is enticing you to try. Have the confidence and comfort that you know there is positive energy around you. This energy and the principle of feng shui might give you that luck you deserve. Feng shui is attracting you to try their method and maybe it will provide solution for the problem at your home.

Tischenko Irina is one of the top rated Copywriter and SEO on most of outsourcing portals. She is ready to write for you on any topics under this holy sun. If you are happy with what you read and want to read more articles on similar topic, you can enjoy her interesting articles spread on all major businesses.

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Banana - The Food of Life

Banana is a fruit that grows in clusters on Banana trees. These trees are cultivated for the production of their fruit. The Banana tree grows to a height of four to eight (5-8) feet with leaves of up to seven (7) feet in length, each tree, when in the productive stage has young suckers that gradually mature as the main tree produces a bunch of green bananas. These trees are related to the Plantains and Figs.

Bananas grow on a hanging bunch with as many as sixteen (16) fruits to the hand and twelve to sixteen (12-16) hands to the bunch. When mature, they are reaped, the tree is cut down allowing new shoot to mature.

Banana is one of the most fresh fruits we can get today, it is high in Iron and low in salt; It is a good source of Potassium, high in fiber,and B vitamins.The fruit is in a generous supply all year, they are inexpensive and a reliable source of Carbohydrates.

Bananas may also be cut green in its unripe stage and use for a variety of dishes; when cooked for example, we make banana casserole, banana Coo-coo, banana pickled with Salt fish and many more. When dried, it can be eaten as chips and ground into Flour.

When ripe the fruit is picked green and exported to various Countries, where the valuable commodity is sold in Supermarkets, fruit and vegetable outlets alike.The Fruit is also used in Hospitals around the world. It is versatile and can be eaten out of your hand, slice and serve in fruit cups; They are also good for making fruit baskets, baking banana bread, cakes, pastries, banana split and the famous banana punch.

However, Bananas are used as a stable Food in many tropical and nontropical countries alike around the world and provides a lifeline for communities. In some parts of the World like Asia Africa, Latin America and the West Indies where we do Exports and Imports of the commodities which gives a balance diet to millions of people.

I am an outdoor person who loves nature,its beautiful scenery throughout our Island gives us landmarks endowed with natural beauty with lust tropical settings and clear beaches. We have a variety of adorable fruit trees with its fruits,The Mango,Papaya, Oranges,Bananas of every type etc. and I love them all.

This web site is being done to encourage all my readers into using more fruits. It's not intended to discourage you in any way.

http://barbadosfood.weebly.com/

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Firewood Tips: Seasoned Firewood and Proper Storage Log Rack

Typically any piece of firewood over 8 inches in diameter should be split. Firewood should be split as soon as possible after it is cut. It is much easier to split green wood than seasoned wood. It is best to select a good hard wood verses a soft wood like pine to burn.

Place your firewood rack 20 to 25 feet from your home or any building if possible. Firewood attracts many insects such as ants and termites. Keeping a proper distance from any structures will keep the insects from entering your home. A log rack should be designed to
keep your firewood off the ground. When firewood sits on the ground it takes longer to season and it tends to attract mice and snakes looking for a home. Stack your firewood allowing air to circulate around the logs but most of the moisture will be drawn from the cut ends verses the split sides. It is not recommended to cover your firewood during the seasoning, this can trap moisture in and will delay the drying time and could cause mold and fungus to grow. Once your firewood is seasoned cover the top layers during fall rains and winter snow. This will allow you to grab dry wood from the top while air circulates through the rest of your firewood

Seasoned firewood will have checks and cracks and weigh much less than fresh cut firewood. Over 50% of the weight in fresh cut wood is moisture. Seasoning of firewood is important for several reasons. When firewood is burned any excess moisture has to be "cooked" out of
the wood. This excess moisture escapes as smoke. If your fireplace doesn't draft very well the smoke could come back into your room. Burning firewood that isn't seasoned uses all the heat from the fire to "cook" out the excess moisture and doesn't produce heat for your
home. Seasoned wood will ignite and burn much easier and cause fewer problems with condensation and creosote. Continue Article

http:http://www.thelograck.com

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Using Feng Shui to Attract Wealth and Prosperity - Part 2

A great way to attract good fortune through feng shui is to observe the element of your business. In feng shui, it is believed that the universe consists of five elements (fire, water, earth, metal, and wood) and that each profession and industry belongs to a certain element. For example, the restaurant business belongs to the element of fire. So if you run a restaurant business, the auspicious colors are red, yellow, orange, and other fiery colors. The element of wood is also auspicious for the restaurant business as wood strengthens the element of fire. Thus the color green will also be lucky for the business as well.

Businesses belonging to the element of Earth include real estate and property developments. The finance, shipping, and travel industries on the other hand, belong to the element of water. The jewelry business, mining, and the assembly of machinery, are of the metal element. Furniture and farming businesses belong to the wood element.

You can also attract wealth luck by having an auspicious logo design for your business. Using the principles above, select the colors and design of the logo according to the element of your business. If you are in the farming industry, the colors green and blue will be most auspicious. Incorporate these colors and some wood element into the logo for good luck.

Your business premise should never have colors or decorations using elements that clash with the element of the business. For example it is extremely unlucky for a jewelry shop to be painted red because the element of fire (represented by the color red) weakens and destroy the metal element (which is the element of a jewelry business). So one must be very careful when choosing a colors and decorations for your business.

For more practical feng shui tips visit http://fengshuimania.blogspot.com

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