Archive for May, 2009

Scrapbooking Your Handwriting: The Personal Touch

Written by Post on Friday, May 29th, 2009 in Home & Family.

The digital age has even affected the scrapbooking hobby.  Digital scrapbooking software lets us make entire page layouts on our computers.  Traditional scrapbookers who may like the more tactile materials on their pages still like the neatness of computer fonts for their journaling.

A computer font may be prettier than handwriting. However, it lacks the personal touch and meaning of our handwriting when our families view our pages.

We all hesitate to use our own handwriting on our scrapbooking pages for different reasons.  A few reasons are common. You might think your handwriting isn’t neat enough for others to read.  Consider how your family views your handwriting.  You can get beyond your concerns if you realize how much your families will value that you preserved something as personal and unique as your handwriting.  Remember how important those handwritten family recipes or letters are to you now.

Are you worried that you will make a permanent mistake with your journaling? Handwriting errors aren’t difficult to correct.  Try using a paper journaling block first.  You can use a second one if you mess up the first.  If you’ve already attached it to the page, just glue another one over it.  Use other page elements to cover your errors.  Stickers are a simple way to cover a handwriting mistake.

Handwriting success depends on using the right pen.  You should first consider the type of paper you are using.  Choose a pen designed to write on that type of surface.  Some pens will run or smear on certain types of scrapbooking paper.  Width is also important.  Using a wide tip pen on a small square of paper is not going to be successful.

Practice, practice, practice.  Write out the journaling first on a scrap piece of paper.  Read it over slowly out loud.  This will help you spot errors in spelling and grammar.  For longer narrative writing, you may want to have someone else proofread it for you before you place it on your page.  Be sure to test the pen on a small piece of the paper you want to use. Writing a draft will let you know how much room you need to write on as well.

Do you write on a slant or uphill?  Many of us find it difficult to write straight on a blank paper. Try using lined journaling blocks.  These are available in your local scrapbooking stores or you can make them yourself with lined stamps or with a ruler and pen.  Try using the natural lines on your patterned papers.  Write with the stripes on your paper as your guide. Frames can be accented by printing along the edges.  You can even writes along the boundaries of your page borders.

There are few things as personal as our handwriting.  Handwriting is unique.  Like our signature, it is a statement of who we are.  When you use your handwriting on your page layouts it adds character to your scrapbooks.  It will tell your family and anyone who looks at your albums about your mood and your personality.  Your family is sure to treasure your scrapbooks even more.  Let your handwriting add depth and emotion to your pages, not a computer font.

Christine Perry is an avid scrapbooker and has more than 10 years of scrapbooking experience. Her favorite scrapbooking subjects are her reluctant teenagers. She invites you to her website, http://www.intoscrapbooking.com for more scrapbooking ideas and information on Mother’s Day cards for scrapbooking.

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About Absinthe Essence

Written by Post on Friday, May 29th, 2009 in Food & Drink.

Absinthe is a strong liquor which is generally between 45 and 75% ABV (alcohol by volume), about twice as strong as other types of alcoholic beverages such as whisky and vodka.

Otherwise known as “The Green Fairy” or “La Fee Verte”, Absinthe was the drink associated with La Belle Epoque and Bohemian Paris. It was given to French soldiers in the 1840s to treat malaria and they brought the drink home with them. Absinthe bars opened all over Paris and special Absinthe hours or “L’heure verte” took place daily. By the middle of the 19th century Pernod, distillers of Absinthe, were making over 30,000 liters of Absinthe every day for the French people to buy!

About Absinthe History

Legend says that Dr Pierre Ordinaire created Absinthe in the Swiss town of Couvet in the 18th century as an elixir or tonic for his patients. The Absinthe recipe eventually got into the hands of Henri-Louis Pernod who first distilled Absinthe in Couvet and then later in Pontarlier, France under the name of Pernod Fils.

Pernod used a wine base and various herbs including common wormwood (artemisia absinthium), aniseed, fennel, lemon balm, hyssop, angelica, dittany, star anise, nutmeg and juniper.

Famous drinkers of the Green Fairy were Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway, Degas, Gauguin, Verlaine and Baudelaire.

Absinthe became more popular than wine, In France, and the prohibition movement campaigned to get Absinthe banned because:-

– Thujone, in wormwood, was thought to be similar to THC in cannabis and thought to be psychoactive.
– Absinthe was linked with the loose morals of the artists, writers and courtesans of Montmartre.
– Absinthe was thought to have psychedelic effects, to cause hallucinations, convulsions and to drive people insane.

It was even claimed that an Absinthe drinker murdered his whole family – just the excuse that the prohibition movement were looking for to persuade the government to ban Absinthe. The buying, selling and consumption of Absinthe in France was made illegal in France in 1915 and in many other countries around this time.

Many studies have shown that Absinthe, including vintage Absinthe, only contains very small amounts of thujone and is perfectly safe to drink. Absinthe has been legalized in many countries since the 1990s and here has been an Absinthe revival in many countries, including the USA who have only recently allowed a few brands to go on sale.

About Absinthe Essences

To enjoy Absinthe, you can either order bottles of Absinthe online or you can make your own Absinthe using essences from AbsintheKit.com. These essences are used by the Absinthe industry and are made using traditional herbal ingredients such as wormwood, aniseed and fennel. Simply mix with either Everclear or vodka to make your very own Absinthe. There are four different types of essence available.

About Absinthe Preparation

The correct way to prepare Absinthe is to follow the ritual:-

– Pour 25-50ml Absinthe into an Absinthe glass.
– Rest a slotted Absinthe spoon on the top of the glass.
– Place a sugar cube on the spoon.
– Drip iced water over the sugar using an Absinthe fountain or pour slowly from a carafe.
– Watch the Absinthe louche.
– Drink your wonderful Absinthe drink.

I hope you have now learned all about Absinthe, the mysterious drink with a very interesting past and a great taste.

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Nowadays, there are numerous spas which provide bath products for spa, but they are still costly. Some opinions from most of the society mention that spa bath products are offering many advantages. Sadly, those spas still offer a stiff price which is not achievable. 

However, there are many bath products now which allow us to do a spa at home so that we can enjoy a bit of pampering whenever we desire. With bath products from tubs and floors to towels and mats, we’ve got the tips to facilitate you bring the spa home.

The Big Picture

One of the most up-to-date bath products these days is the heated floor. That bath product will prevent your bare toes from a cold and hard floor. The heating elements are set up below the floor and can be adjusted to your own comfort level. There is also another selection for bath products, when you feel that the heated floor is too much expensive. You will be allowed to wrap yourself in toasty luxury after your bath or shower with a heated towel rack.

Now is about the bathtub. In a spa bath, the bathtub is the essential point, but never stop with a large soaking bathtub. For instance, you can add jacuzzi jets to give your bathtub time a therapeutic spa experience and it can make a great relaxation for your hurt muscles.

There are also bath products that give the choice of adding some jet action with an insert that can be fitted into the tub and removed whenever you like and wherever you feel more relax. You can also try to pick a faucet that can be preset to a specific temperature where you feel comfortable and water level so you can imagine the perfect bath every time with only one touch.

The Small Details

In order to make a relaxed spa bath product to your home, you have to do some kinds of finishing touch, like putting perfumed oils in the right corner or adding a cozy chair. It will be practical to decorate your bathroom. Meanwhile, the Egyptian or Turkish cotton is often used by many people in order to be more comfortable. That cotton is well-known for its convenience. When good quality of cotton (thick and soft) is combined with good bath mats, it will help you to lessen the injury possibility.

Another bath products to keep on hand include bath salts, Epsom salts, perfumed oils and soaps and one or two loofa sponges. Keep them in rattan baskets that will keep your supplies neat. You must not forget the aromatherapy candles and also a ballad music that will help you to complete the relaxation mode.

In addition, if you have some room, add a cozy chair to relax in before or after you do a bath with bath products. In essential, when you are doing a bath, just make yourself as relaxed as possible.

The final conclusion is that lots of people have a hunch about the high cost of spa bath products. It is lead by excluded products of the spa. But, there are bath products that still inexpensive. For example, you just need to purchase bath product you need then you can do your own spa bath at home.

So, what are you waiting for? Find out more about comfort of spa bath experience without going away from your home.

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How Effective Life Coaching can Turn Your Life Around

Written by Post on Thursday, May 28th, 2009 in Self Improvement.

Numerous folks have problems setting personal goals and then following them. It can be due to a lack of self-discipline, lack of direction or perhaps a mismanaged life style that has them moving around in a circle, never making any headway. Irrespective of what the explanation is, personal goals are not being met and that can result in a downturn in the quality of life for that person. If you find that you are spinning your wheels but not getting anywhere as far as your own personal goals are concerned, maybe the time has come to create the life that you want with life coaching.

Assisting other people to accomplish their personal goals and dreams is what life and personal development coaching is all about. A coach can achieve this by leading by example, offering life tips and employing effective coaching skills that come from several fields, such as psychology or sociology. A life coach must help you in analyzing your current living situation and have you reach a decision as to where you would ultimately like to be in life. Besides providing tips and guiding you along, they will also assist you in overcoming any obstacles that might pop up along the way.

A life coach is not a fix it all and they cannot solve the client’s troubles for them. If you have alcohol, drug or psychological connected problems or there are issues relating to abuse, your mentor will not be qualified to assist you with these types of problem. They can provide a good example and assist the client search out specialist help but they are not certified to tackle such a job. Your mentor is not there to push you towards anything which you are not ready for and neither should they show you the way. They are more of a shoulder to lean on should you require assistance in addressing particular transitions in your life.

One key aspect that you should be mindful of is that there are no professional qualifications or licensing required to become a life coach or for leadership mentoring. There are organizations which do offer membership but there is no training needed in order to be a mentor. With that in mind, when you are looking into finding a life coach, you should be very skeptical of anyone who claims to be able to alter your life or assist you to reach any unreasonable goals.

Life coaching is a way of life for some people and they get a real buzz out of helping others to come through in making their goals, hopes and dreams become a reality. One thing to bear in mind if you have are looking to begin coaching other folks yourself, and that is that you never get anything for nothing and it will take a lot of hard work to become a life coach. Nevertheless, the end results are very much worth the effort.

Everybody requires a little motivation now and then. Life just has an inclination to be overwhelming on occasion and people can frequently find themselves lost en route to their goals. Life coaching takes those goals and helps put the person back on the right track to success.

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Some Easy and Related Rules for Debt Reduction

Written by Post on Wednesday, May 27th, 2009 in Finance.

Debt reduction is the unattainable thing for consumptive people. In relation with debt reduction, the key is the strong commitment to getting out of debt. You may suppose to achieve the excellent thing in your life. You can take the little time to look back on your life and remember the time when you thought concerning your enthusiasms. In this case, you may feel that debt reduction is an important need.

Becoming Interested of Debt Reduction

Related to debt reduction, take the example when you were in college. You were obsessed with accomplishing remarkable grades. Joining each  class, taking copious notes, read ahead the syllabus and focused on the assignments excitedly were the things you done to acquire your enthusiasms. You prepared everything very well from the early semester. Even, you hardly have time to hang out with your friends and family.

Further about debt reduction, let’s take a car as the example of your excitement. To support your interest in that car, you try to find some information about it from the internet, including the reviews and the owners’ club pages.

Even, you will rubberneck of seeing your dream car when you were cruising around town in your boring, old car. You will sacrifice everything to find that car, including save all the money until you ultimately get that car and that will be the proud day for you. In this case, debt reduction is the recommended solution.

Having Obsessions for Debt Reduction

Commitment, dedication and passion are obliged in debt reduction. You must always think concerning the way to diminish your debt. Getting into the bus or train when you go to work will make you happy for the money you save on gas and parking.

Another illustration for debt reduction is the lunch time. You will be happy of knowing that you have saved $50 per week –  or $2,600 per year by take your homemade sandwich or salad, while your co-workers need $5 to $10 or more on sandwiches, salads, and burritos for every lunch.

There more interesting instance for debt reduction is enjoying the movie. Try to enjoy the movie on DVD instead of going out. You can save $10 to $20 from it. Having dinner and dessert at home will be gainful as well. Try to cook from someone else if you can’t.

Track Your Changes

Debt reduction program can be supported with a notebook or journal. You should write down each  cent you have saved. Soon you will grasp that such activity is a small effort, but it will be very worthy to support your program. Count the total amount of your savings at the end of every week. That money can be used to get your target of debt reduction by applying that sum to your highest interest credit card.

Do you want to uplift your knowledge about debt reduction? There is no better way for getting it unless finding it more here!

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