15 Summer Weekend Ideas

By Georgia Andrews.

Source

What do you have planned? Here, 15 activities to help you make the most of summer afternoons.

1. Gifts of the sea. Let summer trips inspire a keepsake project. Put together a display from shells and souvenirs you've collected from the shore. Or create a still life and give it to a friend. Rocks polished smooth by waves can be as unique and beautiful as shells. Coat stones from the beach with baby oil and place them in a bowl. They'll look as though they just washed up on shore.

2. In stitches. While browsing through late-summer tag sales or vintage clothing stores, you just might discover a pair of wonderfully broken in jeans. Make the most of the soft denim by converting the pants into a skirt. Personalize your new garment by sewing on a wide hem made from a vintage print or a simple eyelet border. For a fun alternative, make a modern-day poodle skirt in honor of your pet. Cut a simple dog or cat shape out of a cheerful fabric-small prints or felt work best. Attach it to an A-line or wraparound denim skirt with an easy-to-use adhesive like HeatnBond Ultra Hold Iron-on Adhesive, available at jo-ann.com. Hemstitch by hand to finish or add a satin stitch with your sewing machine.

3. Walk in the woods before dusk and listen to the birdsong.

4. This one’s for the record. Throw a backyard party with music you play on a vintage record player. Put on songs to which you dance with a partner— tunes from the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s are best—and watch the effect. Find players on ebay.com. On a sultry late-summer night, host an outdoor cocktail party. Play classic jazz like the Dave Brubeck Quartet or vocalists like Tony Bennett, both available on vinyl at footlight.com.

5. Take a relaxing lavender bath. Let the hot water run over a nosegay of fresh lavender leaves and blossoms. For an even more aromatic experience, add some Lavender Bath Syrup from Sweet Grass Farm; order from sweetgrassonline.com.

6. Refreshing. Invite a couple of friends over for lavender lemonade. Brew 2 cups of lavender-infused leaf tea, cool it, then add the juice of 4 lemons and honey—lavender, of course—to taste. Serve over ice. Order culinary lavender from Penzeys Spices: 4 oz.; penzeys.com.

7. With cherries on top. Let them eat cake—without turning on a hot oven. Transform a store-bought cake into a sumptuous treat by topping it with fresh cherries. You can also use strawberries, blueberries, or blackberries. Summer’s harvest produces so many fresh berries from which to choose. Just remember: To get the most flavor, use berries as soon as possible—a few days at most after you buy them. And select containers without juice stains—signs of crushed, bruised berries, which might indicate overripe fruit.

8. Freeze fresh fruit juice in Popsicle molds for an icy treat.

9. Posh picnic. Skip the paper plates the next time you picnic. Gather up your assorted favorite china in a sturdy basket. It’s fun to mix and match dish styles and enjoy the transferware or vintage plates that you found at a tag sale. If you have one treasure with a pattern you absolutely love and want to create a picnic set, check out Replacements, Ltd. (replacements.com). It offers a huge selection of china patterns—even old and discontinued ones.
10. Take a drive down a country road. Then pull over on a road less traveled and take a walk. If the path is grassy, go barefoot!

11. Ex libris. Visit your own bookshelves and reread a favorite novel, or pick up a classic you’ve been meaning to start but haven’t gotten around to yet. Particularly nice for summer weekend reading: Travels with Charley, by John Steinbeck, My Antonia, by Willa Cather, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain, and TheCollected Poems of Emily Dickinson.

12. Stop by the farmers’ market for fresh herbs—look for lemon verbena or sorrel—then use them to heighten the flavor of your favorite grilled vegetables.

13. Do a favor. Create personalized place settings for a summer luncheon. Start by digging into that drawer filled with old note cards, spare buttons, and ribbons for materials. Not only will you clean out the drawer, you’ll have the makings of an original favor for each guest. Finish by writing each person’s name on his or her favor. Order crafts pens or markers from polymerclayexpress.com or pearlpaint.com.

14. Color theory. Spruce up a neglected room with a coat of paint. Try summery colors like Pratt & Lambert’s Snapdragon or Benjamin Moore’s Pure Joy and apply to just one wall. It will be easy enough to change when you’re ready for the rich palette of autumn.

15. Play croquet, Wiffle ball, or badminton. If you don’t have the equipment, invite a neighbor who does—or look for a used set at a yard sale.

Choosing the Right Sun Hat

It’s that time of year when we start dusting off last summer’s clothes to see if they are still fit to wear. Will that white linen shirt still be white? Can I still get into my swimsuit? And very important these days to avoid getting sun burnt, where is my sun hat?

I don’t know about you, but I find one sun hat is never enough. They are a bit like umbrellas; everyone needs three. One for home, one for work and one to leave on the train!. Whenever the sun comes out I can never find my hat.

One way to make loosing your hat less likely is to keep it on. That way you always know where it is. But to be able to wear a sun hat for long periods it needs to be comfortable.

A comfortable sun hat is one which is the right weight and the right size. Not so heavy that it weighs you down and not so light that it blows off at the first sign of a breeze.

Making sure you have the right hat size is straightforward enough, but you need to know what size your head is and many people find this confusing. The simplest measure is the circumference of the head at the widest part, usually just above the ears.

Most sun hats sold in the UK will be sized in centimeters. Some however will still come in the imperial sizing and you should be aware that for some strange historical reason, US imperial hat sizes are ¼” smaller than UK imperial sizes.

A small medium sun hat would typically be a size 58cm for a man and size 55cm for a woman. A medium large sun hat would be a size 60cm for a man and size 57cm for a woman.

Over time a hat may shrink very slightly so it is better for it to start off too big than too small. That being said the change should only be slight and it is possible to stretch hats if they shrink.

The best sun hats for comfort are handmade in Ecuador and are known as panamas. The name comes from the building of the panama canal rather than Panama the country. These hats are made of Paja Toquilla straw and can be crocheted or woven. The crocheted hats are more informal and slightly heavier, but both can be worn all day without any discomfort.

The only problem with wearing such a comfortable hat is that you won’t know if you’re wearing it or not! So if you do take it off and leave it no the train, it could be days before you realize!

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Sugar Cookie. 10 Easy Recipes.

I found an interesting note :) It's very tasty - I was able.
And so:

After School Sugar Cookies
7 tbsp butter
1/3 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Cream together butter, shortening, and sugar. Mix in egg and vanilla. Blend well. Mix in flour, baking powder, and salt. Divide dough into two balls. Wrap in plastic wrap. Chill a minimum of one hour. Roll dough out to 1/8 inch thickness on lightly floured surface. Cut into desired shapes. Bake at 375 F. for 6 to 8 minutes on ungreased cookie sheets. Decorate with icing after cookies halved cooled.. Yield: about 4 dozen cookies

Fruity Sugar Cookies
3/4 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
1 (3 oz.) pkg. Jello (any flavor)
2 eggs
3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Roll dough into teaspoon size ball. Place on a cookie sheet and smash with a glass. Bake at 375 degrees for 6 minutes.

Easy Roll Sugar Cookies
1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
3 c. sifted flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/3 c. milk

Cream butter. Add sugar gradually, mix in egg yolks and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients with milk. Chill 1 hour. Roll 1/8 inch thick on well floured surface. Cut with cookie cutters and place on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Frost and decorate when cool. Makes about 5 dozen.

Cut Out Sugar Cookies
1 c. margarine
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Cream margarine, sugar and eggs. Mix dry ingredients; add to cream mixture. Add flour until dough is firm. Chill dough. Roll on floured board 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out cookies. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies
1/2 c. marg., softened
3/4 c. sugar
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. cream
1/4 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/3 c. cocoa

Cream margarine and sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir in egg yolks, vanilla and cream. Sift dry ingredients together and add to cream mixture. Drop by teaspoons full on greased cookie sheets, about 1 inch apart. Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes.

Bake Store Sugar Cookies
1 1/2 c Flour
1/2 c Sugar
1/3 c Shortening
1 tb Milk
1 ts Baking powder
1/2 ts Vanilla
1/4 ts Salt
1 Egg

Measure ingrediants into a bowl & mix well. Shape into a ball & wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 3 hours.
Pre-heat oven to 400 F. Roll out 1/2 of the dough (leave the rest tin the fridge for now) to 1/8" thick & cut out shapes. Place 1" apart. Bake 6-8 minutes or until golen brown. Remove & cool completely. Store in tightly covered containers

Deluxe Sugar Cookies
1 cup butter, softened, Do Not Substitute
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
Granulated sugar

Mix thoroughly butter, confectioners sugar, egg, vanilla, and almond extract. Blend in the flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for about 2 hours. Heat oven to 375 F. Divide the dough in half. Roll out each half to about 3/16 inch thick on a lightly floured board. Cut into desired shapes. Sprinkle with the granulated sugar. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes or until lightly golden brown on the edges.

Rolled Sugar Cookies
3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 and 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Cream together the butter or margarine, sugar, eggs and vanilla
til light and fluffy. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well.
If dough seems dry, add a little milk. Chill dough overnight.
Roll out dough on lightly floured board and cut into desired
shapes. Decorate as desired. Bake at 400*F for 6-8 minutes.
I roll out the dough between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick.

My Favorite Sugar Cookies

Original recipe yield: 6 dozen

INGREDIENTS
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2/3 cup shortening
2 eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup egg white (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Mix first 8 ingredients in a large bowl at medium speed until well mixed. Shape dough into a ball and wrap with waxed paper. Refrigerate 2 to 3 hours until easy to handle.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease cookie sheets. Roll out half of the dough at a time on a lightly floured surface. Keep the remaining dough refrigerated. For crisp cookies, roll paper thin. For softer cookies, roll 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.
With floured cookie cutters, cut dough into various shapes. Re-roll dough trimmings and continue to cut shapes. Place cookies 1/2 inch apart on greased cookie sheets. To glaze, brush tops of cookies with heavy or whipping cream or with an egg white slightly beaten with 1 tablespoon of water. Sprinkle cookies with your choice of toppings; bake 8 minutes or until very light brown. Remove cookies and cool completely.

Dutch Sugar Cookies
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter room temperature
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ounces good-quality white chocolate melted

Using electric mixer beat sugar and butter in large bowl until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour baking powder and salt. Mix just to combine. Divide dough in half. Gather each piece into ball; flatten into disks. Wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour. Preheat oven to 325F. Roll out 1 dough disk on floured work surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Using assorted cookie cutters cut out cookies. Transfer cookies to ungreased baking sheets spacing 1 inch apart. Gather dough scraps; re-roll to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out more cookies. Bake cookies until pale golden about 13 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks; cool. Repeat with remaining dough disk. Spoon melted chocolate into pastry bag fitted with 1/16-inch plain tip. Pipe chocolate onto cookies. Let cookies stand until chocolate sets. (Can be made ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week or freeze up to 1 month.) Makes about 5 dozen.

Is Your Vision Limiting Your Success?

Like all of us, you were born to win. My goal is to help you be more of a winner than you already are. This article is designed to help you break out of your limitations and experience your full potential.

There was a businessman who lived in the suburb of a great city. He was an honest hard worker who had achieved a modest measure of success. Every day on his way to his office he would pass this large building. On the front of the building was a large sign. The sign proclaimed in big bold letters the name of a man who owned that building (or at least rented it) and the name of his company.

Is Your Vision Big Enough?

One day his wife was riding along with him as he passed that building. He commented to his wife, "I can't even imagine having a business like that." Just as he said that, the thought popped into his mind that said, "Don't worry. You won't. You'll never have a great business like that."

This thought startled him. He wondered what it meant. Then he realized that as long as you can't imagine it, as long as you can't see it, there's no chance you will achieve it. Suddenly he realized that his own thoughts and beliefs were condemning him to mediocrity. Right then he made a decision to start believing better of himself. Just like that man, we have to conceive it internally before we can ever hope to accomplish it externally. Our self-concept rules us. It is impossible for us to think or act differently than the picture we have of ourselves.

If you don't think you can achieve great things, then you never will. The block is in your own mind. It's not your lack of knowledge or talent that keeps you from prospering. It's your own wrong thinking.

Your own wrong thinking can keep you from achieving ultimate happiness and success.

If you ever hope to have your dreams come true, you must first conceive it. Believe that is possible for you. That's called having a vision. Make yours positive. Make it BIG! You have all kinds of visions. You are always running movies in your mind. Some of these movies you label as fiction, like imagining that you are Superman rescuing Lois Lane. we are not talking about those kinds of visions. You label other movies as true. It's what you believe in. These movies are made and directed by your self-concept. They have a huge impact on your life. These are the movies that rule. They give rise to your positive or negative thoughts. If you hear yourself thinking this is as good as I can do. "I'll never do something really meaningful. I'll never enjoy the good things in life. I'll never do anything significant, achieve great things, nor enjoy the good life that I have seen others enjoy." Unfortunately, you're right -- as long as your movies are negative.

The First Step

That's why the first step to achieving ultimate happiness and success is to dare to think big. Have a big vision. To live your best life now, you must believe in yourself and see yourself rising to new levels. See your business exploding. See your marriage fulfilling. See your family prosperous and happy. See your dreams coming true.

You must replace these negative thoughts and images with positive thoughts and images.

How do you do this? One of the most powerful ways is using your imagination. Use mental imagery. Run positive detailed movies in your mind. Gold-medal winning athletes use it all the time.

Scientific Proof

Imagination power has been proven to stimulate peak performance. Some researchers took three groups of basketball players to test out if practicing shooting baskets in imagination -- mental rehearsal -- could improve their ability to do that skill in real life. Most scientists doubted imaginary practice would make any difference, but others thought it might help a little. They were astounded that those who practiced only in their imagination improved almost as much as those that practiced in real life.

The group who practiced shooting baskets only in their imagination imagined doing this in vivid technicolor and stereophonic sound. Not only that, their movies were better than the limited movies we see in the theater. They had smell-o-vision and feel-o-vision. They smelled the smells associated with the gymnasium and all the feelings of shooting and scoring baskets. In other words, they used as many of the five senses as they could. (This is called multi-channel thinking and I describe it in detail in my book, Triggers.)

Think of it. Mentally rehearsing or practicing can be as powerful as doing it in real life.

What to Do

Imagine your business being just the way you want it to be. Imagine it bigger, better, and more profitable than you ever thought possible. See what that looks like. Hear what that sounds like. Feel what that feels like. This is your goal, this is your target; this is where you are telling your conscious and unconscious mind to go. If you think it, ink it. As powerful as imagination and movies of the mind are, there's one serious flaw. They are in ephemeral. They may be forgotten in whole or in part. That's why you need to put them in writing.

Having a big clear vision in writing is the first step. Review it daily. Imagine in vivid detail achieving your goals. This is an essential and vital requirement to live the life of your dreams.

I know you can do this. It will help you immeasurably. I want to see you have a rich and rewarding life.

P.S. Always remember, you were born to win.

Source

Women In Business Video.

Crazy Business Ideas that Worked ;)

7 Great Home Business Ideas For Women

Source: Unusual Business Ideas That Work

If you are a woman looking for a homebiz opportunity that suites your lifestyle, I suggest you first study some real-life examples for online homebusinesses and some offline ones

http://www.homereferralbiz.com/

After buying their first home, Debra Cohen and her husband faced the unenviable chore of finding reliable home improvement contractors. Fed up with blindly picking names from the Yellow Pages and waiting for contractors who didn't show up, it occurred to Cohen that if she and her husband were having trouble finding contractors, other homeowners in their community must be facing a similar predicament. This bleak reality sparked the creation of a unique service that has since expanded into a profitable cottage industry across the U.S. and internationally. At first, Cohen worked approximately 15 hours to 20 hours per week; she now works about 30 hours per week. Last year, sales for Home Remedies exceeded $100,000.

http://www.creativebookmarks.com/

Diana Waltman came up with the idea of a bookmark business because it was a fun way to express creativity and would require a low investment. Extensive foot surgery forced her to quit office job and doctors told her she would be out of work for more than three years. She knew she had to do something while recuperating, so she decided to look into an online business and found only one Website selling handmade bookmarks. Thus her small online home based business was born.

http://www.girlonthego.biz

People often ask Sheril Cohen to talk to their family members or friends who had cancer. Ater all she is a survivor. One of the first questions people ask is: "What about my hair?" So she started a wig business for cancer patients that undergo chemotherapy. “I immersed myself in the wig business. I met with wholesalers, retailers, and stylists in Brooklyn's wig district and spoke to women who wore wigs. I hired four part-time stylists, each of whom had a connection to someone with cancer. They bring wig samples into people's homes and style them as the client likes. My prices -- anywhere from $50 to $5,000 for a wig, depending on the hair -- are comparable to those in wig stores because I have no overhead”

http://www.babyeinstein.com/

Believe it or not, Baby Einstein (sold to Disney for $25 million) was started as a home business. The Baby Einstein Company LLC based in Littleton, Colorado, came from Julie Aigner-Clark’s need for a learning tool for her infant daughter. In 1995, this former teacher and new mom read the latest research regarding babies’ capacity to learn. Finding nothing in stores that used the research and that was developmentally appropriate, educational and fun, Aigner-Clark decided to create something herself.

http://www.curliegirl.com

Vicky Prazdnik and Lori Mozzone avid knitting and crocheting hobbyists, knew that they needed to create something beyond the standard fare of knitted hats and scarves for them to succeed as a fashion company. They stumbled on the idea of dainty crocheted thong underwear, and went on to create the design and develop the right prototype. Once convinced that they have the right design, they tested the market’s reaction by showing the crocheted thongs in a Valentine’s theme party in New York. Their product got a wild response!

http://www.bestscopingtechniques.com/

In 1994, Judy Rakocinski was looking into a home based career as a scopist, a person who edits legal transcripts from home for court reporters. That's how she found Cathy Vickio and contacted her about getting started. They have only met in person once since Judy lives in Florida and Cathy lives in Texas. Regardless, a friendship immediately bloomed and has grown since. Cathy helped Judy start her successful career and they continued to be friends. After several years, the pair realized that the ratio of scopists to court reporters was about 1,000 to 60,000. It was clear that the need for professionally trained scopists was great and Judy and Cathy decided to develop a training program for that specific purpose. Thus, they began to develop their online business at BeSTScopingTechniques.com where they offer an online, self-paced course designed to teach people to become professional scopists. They just celebrated their four-year anniversary in business together in March 2007.

http://mainebalsam.com/

Wendy Newmeyer started her foray into the balsam business by selling the cut branches of the balsam fir trees for a local incense factory. Quite coincidentally, she had read in a book that Native Americans used balsam trees as herb for many different home remedies. With her long-standing interests in herbs “that got me excited into thinking about it [balsams] in a different way,” said Wendy. She became a supplier to the incense factory, which used her balsam fir boughs to stuff souvenir pillows. Through the years Wendy has experimented with trade shows, catalogue sales, the QVC home shopping network, and many other avenues to showcase her products. She recently set-up a web site, to widen her market reach and take a dip on Internet retailing. Her worldwide outlets now exceed 4,400 stores and her employees have increased to 12. Sales of Maine Balsam Fir Products have reached well over $500,000 per year.

By the way, if you are planning to go back to school, you may be eligible for free scholarship (only if you are a US resident)

50 Most Powerful Women in Business (2006).

Source: CNN Money

1 Indra Nooyi PepsiCo
2 Anne Mulcahy Xerox
3 Meg Whitman eBay
4 Pat Woertz Archer Daniels Midland
5 Irene Rosenfeld Kraft Foods
6 Brenda Barnes Sara Lee
7 Andrea Jung Avon
8 Oprah Winfrey Harpo Inc.
9 Sallie Krawcheck Citigroup
10 Susan Arnold Procter & Gamble
11 Christine Poon Johnson & Johnson
12 Judy McGrath Viacom
13 Anne Sweeney Disney Media Networks
14 Ann Livermore Hewlett-Packard
15 Ann Moore Time Inc.
16 Ginni Rometty IBM
17 Susan Desmond Hellmann - Genentech
18 Abigail Johnson Fidelity
19 Zoe Cruz Morgan Stanley
20 Susan Ivey R.J. Reynolds Tobacco
21 Ellen Kullman DuPont
22 Charlene Begley General Electric
23 Amy Brinkley Bank of America
24 Lois Quam UnitedHealth Group
25 Heidi Miller J.P. Morgan Chase
26 Carol Meyrowitz TJX Cos.
27 Ursula Burns Xerox
28 Martha Stewart Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia
29 Linda Dillman Wal-Mart
30 Shelly Lazarus Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide
31 Mary Minnick Coca-Cola
32 Pat Curran Wal-Mart Stores
33 Lisa Weber MetLife
34 Mary Sammons Rite Aid
35 Joanne Maguire Lockheed Martin
36 Doreen Toben Verizon
37 Colleen Goggins Johnson & Johnson
38 Cathleen Black Hearst Magazines
39 Carrie Cox Schering-Plough
40 Paula Rosput Reynolds Safeco
41 Amy Pascal Sony
42 Dawn Hudson PepsiCo
43 Deirdre Connelly Eli Lilly
44 Ellyn McColgan Fidelity
45 Claire Watts Wal-Mart Stores
46 Catherine West J.C. Penney
47 Nancy Peretsman Allen & Co.
48 Diane Gulyas DuPont
49 Christina Gold Western Union
50 Stacey Snider Viacom

As you are? Flirting Tips for Women :)

Source: www.flirtzone.com

Give clear signals

Men are notoriously bad at interpreting signals from women. Know what you want when you flirt and make sure your signals are clear and that they convey what you mean. It’s not fair to flirt with someone for the fun of it – unless they are obviously flirty themselves. Flirting for fun is fine when you know someone a little better. If you genuinely want to meet people then by all means flirt, just make sure you know how to separate the sexual flirting signals from the 'hi, I'm friendly' flirting signals.

Great States are catching

People love being around charismatic people because they spread good feelings. Get yourself into the right state for flirting and go for it. Feel good about yourself and others will feel good about you.

Carry something to get you noticed [Susan Rabin calls this a flirting prop]

If you want someone to approach you, be sure to wear or carry something that is eye-catching and noticeable to you. You will be surprised how much easier it is to go up to someone and ask a question about their prop.

Separate yourself from your friends

If you go out with a group of friends or even one girlfriend, make sure you separate from them so that you are more approachable. No man wants to be rejected in front of a group of women, and he may well feel he cannot approach you when you are ‘protected’ by a herd of other women!

Check your voice

Does your voice sound like a dental drill or do you wash people in waves of sensual sound?

Be interesting by being interested

Cut down the talk about yourself and ask him open ended questions. Find out about him – after all people generally enjoy talking about themselves and feel flattered when someone shows an interest in them. This also gives him the cue that you like to know a bit about someone before exchanging numbers or accepting a date.

Ask him what he enjoys doing

Women and men often tend to fall back on the line ‘What do you do’? To some men, this can smack of ‘checking for wallet-padding’. Alternatively Not everyone is doing the work they love, YET and the question may put them on the spot. Men are much more activity orientated whereas women like to talk about emotions. Asking them what they enjoy doing in their life will allow find out more about what makes them tick.

If you give out your number, give the genuine one

Carry a personal or business card to hand out. This way you know that when you give out your phone number you either give out the genuine one or not at all. Imagine what it must feel like plucking up the courage to dial a woman’s number only to find it is the local Chinese take-away.

Make the first move!

95% of men I talked to said they would love to be approached by a woman. If women are looking for equality then it is only fair that they do their share of the asking. It will also give you an opportunity to understand what men have to go through when making a first approach.

And finally:

Be yourself.

It’s no point in assuming a role you think someone wants you to play because you’ll get found out sooner or later. Be proud of who you are and if you aren’t YET sure how you are at your best, you might want to do some work on it. There are plenty of courses and self-help books out there.

4 Tips For Moving Forward When Your Relationship has Ended

Source: www.newomen.com

It seems that everywhere you look, many long-standing (or short) relationships and/or marriages are dissolving. If you're like most people, when this happens, you find yourself stuck in thinking about the past, wondering what went wrong, and unable to move from the pain of the relationship. You might even fear that any future relationship will turn out the same.

It doesn't matter whether you left the relationship or were left-the best advice we can give you is to learn from the past and not carry old "baggage" into the new life you envision for yourself.

Here are 4 ideas to help you move forward in a more empowering way:

Tip 1: Never look at a relationship (or anything else) that hasn't worked out as a failure

Often it's the seed of a current or past "failure" that fuels you to the very success that you've always dreamed of. It sounds trite, but there's always something you can learn from every experience.

Past relationships give you a clearer picture of what you want and what you don't want in a relationship if you take the time to examine them. It's the power of contrast that living in an unfulfilling relationship can give you that can lead to you creating the relationship that you do want.

What we've learned is that if a relationship has ended, it is not a bad thing or a failure that our society likes to label it. It just may be that you
have learned what it is that you were supposed to learn by being with that other person and it's time to move on to other "lessons."

It might also be a chance for both people to look at what happened and to learn to "do it differently" the next time.

Tip 2: Turn from the past and look toward the future ...YOUR future

It's easy to get stuck in the past when a relationship ends.

You will begin to heal and move forward when you begin thinking and writing about what you want for your life, today and in the future.

Setting goals is very important in this process of turning to your new life. The famous motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar said that he had never met a truly depressed person who had goals for his/her life and we know that this is true. Take some time right now to create some new goals for your new life and then start taking small steps toward those goals.

Tip 3: Take responsibility for your part-no more and no less

When a relationship ends, very often we want to assign fault and blame, either to ourselves or to the other person. When you are in a healthy relationship with another person, both people are equally responsible for the relationship. If a relationship ends, the same thing usually applies. No matter who appears to be at fault when challenges come up, both people are responsible.

You can only heal when you let go of assigning "fault" and "blame" and focus on what you want to change about yourself and what you want to create in a relationship.

This can be a very difficult process if you are hanging on to the need to be right, anger, judgments and unexpressed resentments.

Taking responsibility means accepting what's true about what you have or have not contributed to the relationship that ended and considering what you intend to contribute to relationships in the future.

Tip 4: Learn from and give thanks for the lessons that you learned and change your attitude

As painful as it is to hear, the truth is that everything in your life (including your relationships) is a result of the choices you have made up until now. If you don't like the circumstances in your life or relationships, decide to make other choices.

This could mean changing your attitude from blame to acceptance. It could mean opening up to bringing new people into your life. It could mean deciding to be a better person in your current relationships. It could mean being grateful for what you have.

Being grateful for where you are and what you've learned will be a positive movement toward creating what you want in your life. Change your attitude and you will change your life.

When a relationship ends, it's tempting to close down and vow never to get in another relationship again or even rush into a new relationship. Instead, we invite you to take the time to learn from past relationships, be in gratitude for where you are and start moving toward the relationships and life that you really want.

Susie and Otto Collins are Relationship and Life Success Coaches, married partners and authors of several books and courses on relationships including "Should You Stay or Should You Go?" and "No More Jealousy." In addition to having a great relationship, they regularly write, speak and conduct seminars on love, relationships and personal growth. To read more free articles like this or to sign up for their free online relationship newsletter visit

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Five Rules to Live and Love By

Source: lifestyle.msn.com

Kathy Freston from the Oprah.com exclusive "Rules to Live and Love By"
Whether you're single, married or somewhere in between, author Kathy Freston says it's never too late to find your true love.

Kathy Freston, author of The One: Finding Soul Mate Love and Making It Last shares her rules for finding true love.

There is potential for soul mate love all around us at every moment. It is a matter of recognizing the connection, sensing the "charge" of energy, and then cultivating a relationship that will take us beyond our present limitations. A soul mate brings us enormous joy and fulfillment, but even more importantly, soul mates lead us into our life's lessons. They get under our skin and push our buttons. They inspire us to look at who we are and where we need to grow.

Whether single, married, or somewhere in between, we can begin practicing masterful ways of relating with whomever stands before us, and in this way, we become better and more enlightened human beings. We can become the love we want to find; we can source it from within.

Get Five of Kathy's Rules to Live and Love By

Seeing your partner through the lens of love rather than fear automatically elevates the relationship to a higher plane. When you can get quiet and note when you are projecting fear, you can make the adjustment to see through a different filter. So often we feel indignant or incensed, but upon closer inspection we will find that we are really afraid. Once we assume our partner's core goodness rather than focusing on their "guilt," they will be more free to show us their best, which accelerates the process of shifting our perspective from one of blame and anxiety to one of acceptance and peace.

Being willing to forgive yourself and your partner, and to make amends when necessary is an ongoing process of cleanup. We all make mistakes; it's human. But when we hold fast to a grudge it eats away at our sense of peace and serenity. If you aren't willing to forgive, you might ask yourself what habit of ego you're attached to. Do you want to continue life with unresolved issues hanging over you?

When we take a stand and refuse to let go of something, we can always find evidence to justify it. Or we can try to make peace. Instead of blaming or making excuses, we can clean things up and move forward. This is not an excuse for staying in a dysfunctional situation, but an opportunity to see innocence. Once we do that, we gain or give freedom to move out of a "stuck" place.

Relaxing when times get tough; assuming that "this too shall pass" allows you to roll with the punches. If you know things will inevitably arise to challenge you, you can be more detached when they do. Problems become worse when we dig in our heels and try to force a solution. By relaxing into whatever struggle arises, we remain flexible and open to inspiration and insight.

Even if you have a hard time letting go, you can at least observe yourself taking things very seriously, which in itself helps to detach you from the experience of anxiety. Whatever is happening now won't be happening a year from now, so just keep breathing through the situation and see if you can take things a little less seriously.

Seeing in the dynamic of the relationship the reflection of what you need to learn helps bring you back to what is important. Sometimes we get lost in the chatter of day-to-day patterns and lose sight of the soul's mandate to bring us closer to realizing our Oneness. The best way to see where we need to work on things is to observe who we are and what we do within the context of a relationship. Any time you recognize your impulse to create distance rather than intimacy, you can make the adjustment and get back on track.

This relationship, as with all relationships is part of a curriculum to evolve into our highest potential. We come to know ourselves by how we interact with our partner, and by so doing we come to know Spirit.

Being grateful for what you have zeros in on what is working, which in turn magnetizes more of the same. Where you put your focus is where you direct your creative intention; so if you want abundance, be grateful for the vitality you have now. If you want a soulful relationship, be grateful for the soulful moments. Gratitude is like a seed you plant; it grows more as it is watered and nourished. Show your partner what you appreciate in them and let them know that they have a positive effect in your life. The acknowledgement of good will call forth more of the same.

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Top 5 Makeup Secrets (That Professionals Don't Want You to Know)

Source: www.prweb.com

Lakx.com reveals simple makeup tricks used by professionals that you can try at home to achieve that expensive salon look. No matter what the occasion or season, get the perfect salon makeup look every time.

Ever wonder no matter how hard you try at home or use the most expensive makeup products, you can never get that stunning salon look. Though it is of great importance to use good quality makeup products, the secret to that head-turning look does not lie in expensive makeup alone, but in the use of the right makeup techniques. Lakx.com reveals the top secret makeup tricks used by professionals to turn every woman into a Diva.

Go Nude for Lips:
If you want to improve the sensuality of your lips without creating a tacky appearance then you may want to try a make up trick used by makeup artists. First apply a neutral tone lip liner to your lips. Then fill in your lips with a neutral lip gloss. This will help make your lips look "juicier" and naturally beautiful.

Pucker Up and Blow:
One problem that women have with dark colored lipstick is that it gets on their teeth. To reduce the chances that this will happen, professionals ask you to do two things. First of all, after you apply your lipstick place your finger in your mouth, gently close your lips around your finger, and then pull then pull your finger out of your mouth. This will remove the excess lipstick from your lips. Next blot your lips on a tissue. This makeup tip will help to remove excess lipstick and it will also help to smooth out your lip color.

Fixing Your Nose Asymmetry:
When you look at your nose does it look straight and symmetrical? Professional makeup artists tell you what to do. If you don't like the way that your nose looks you can use makeup to contour its shape. The best contouring makeup is a foundation that is a shade or two darker then your regular foundation. Apply the darker foundation to the sides of your nose to reduce the perceived bulk of your nose. If you feel that your nose is too bulbous then you can apply a little of the darker foundation to the sides of the tip of your nose to trim it down.

Define Your Lash Line with Eye Shadow:
To create the illusion of a thicker lash line all you need is eye shadow and an angled makeup brush. To start with select a color that either matches your regular eye liner, or that you will be using to line your eyes with. As you apply your eye shadow around your eye to line it, push the brush into your lash line. This eye makeup tip will help to plump up your lash line and make you look like you have a thicker set of eye lashes.

Create an Illusion of Pronounced Cheekbones:
If you have a round face you can create the illusion of a more slender face shape by defining your cheekbones with blush. To create this illusion you will want to use a darker blush under your cheekbone and a lighter shade of blush to highlight the area of your face directly above your cheekbones. This makeup trick will create the illusion that you have a thinner face and higher cheekbones than you actually do.

These little known makeup tricks are sure to help you achieve the perfect look every time. For more skin care tips, hair care, hairstyles, nail care, nail art designs, fashion advice and makeup tips, log on to Lakx.com, the beauty and fashion portal packed with the latest trends, practical tips and time-tested techniques.

Women Becoming Increasingly Entrepreneurial

Author: http://www.blogsbywomen.org
According to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, women are starting to turn a long-awaited entrepreneurial corner. In fact, more women than ever before are starting their own businesses. Similarly, more and more women are becoming managers and chief executives. Nonetheless, women are still behind their male counterparts when it comes to the amount of money they earn.

The report does show that women are beginning to more consistently select educational paths that allow for more lucrative careers. In addition, more women in general are pursuing higher education. In 1950, only 24% of bachelor’s degrees were held by women. In 2004, on the other hand, 57.5% of those with a bachelor’s degree are women.

Women are also increasingly getting involved with business ownership. Today, women own at least half of 40% of businesses in the United States. In addition, while women held only about 17.6% of management jobs in 1972, they accounted for 37.2% of managers in 2006.

According the researchers, women are expected to continue to make gains in the world of business, though the rate at which these gains occur is expected to slow

Celebrity Hair Secrets

Author: Stephanie Elms
Have you ever wondered how celebrity's hair always looks so perfect? That can be answered very simply...full-time stylist! Unfortunately, most us cannot afford the luxury of such staff but, the good news is we don't have to. Some of the tricks that the stylist use are easy and can be done very easily at home. Here are some tips you can use to create picture perfect hair.

•Healthy hair is beautiful hair so start working on the condition of your hair as soon as you can. Optimally, you should allow a few months to insure your hair has that lustrous shine but, if you don't have a few months, don't worry. Jennifer Aniston's stylist uses Kerastase Serum Nutri-Sculpt on her hair because it immediately restores ends to a healthy looking finish and provides instant shine. Also, using an oil as a hair mask will help as well. Just rub a bit into the ends of hair or where it is dry and leave it in over night. Anne Hathaway uses Goodnite Hair Repair Serum. Shampoo out in the morning. Usually once a week is sufficient; however, if you are pressed for time consider doing it more often. Jennifer Lopez uses Lenonor Greyl Palm Oil and Jennifer Garner uses Oscar Blandi Jasmine Oil.

• Next, consider a shampoo that will jump start the styling process. There are many shampoos and conditioners that contain styling products to help with enhance and hold curls, add volume, or even promote straightening of hair. Some good ones are Samy Fat Hair Thickening Shampoo and Redkin Fresh Curls. Sometimes you might even want to consider skipping a shampoo to allow the natural oils to build up (day old hair is often easier to style) or if you need to wash, maybe just wash the front and style it.

• For a sexy updo consider one that Cate Blanchett's stylist used on her before a movie premier. Pull hair gently over to one side in the back and braid. Allow the layers and loose hairs to come out as you braid. Next, loop the braid back to the nape and secure with an elastic or hairpins. It gives the hair a nice twisted texture. If you have shorter hair but want to achieve this look, consider getting a fake pony tail. Make sure that the piece is an exact color match. You can find many great buys on-line or in salons. Affordable options can be found at hairpieces.com.

• Use headbands. Headbands offer a sweet sexiness and can be used with hair pulled up in a slick, classic look or in a loose more sexy updo. You can also use headbands with your hair down. This is a great look for a trendy girl.

• For sexy, rumpled, romantic waves like Gisele Bundchen, consider using this tip from a Nexus pro stylist. Twist towel-dried hair into several sections and pull them back into a low pony tail. Allow to air dry or use a diffuser, then shake it out and run a drop of hair wax through for separation. Kate Hudson gets this same look by twisting pieces of hair around various sizes of curling irons. Leave the ends out so as not to create a crimped look.

• Another really classy look is to leave your hair down and pull the top and sides back. You can do this with straight hair for a really sleek look or add some curl and make the top part that is pulled back a bit messy by pulling some pieces looser than others. Also, pulling it loose can add volume up top. Use a texturizing cream for body and separation. Rihanna loves Bed Head Manipulator texturizing cream.

• You can also consider hair pieces or wigs for more dramatic changes to your look if your hair isn't the length you need to pull off a certain look.

The most important thing to remember is that practice makes perfect. You can easily get these looks but sometimes it takes a little practice as you tweak each tip to work best for your hair type.

For additional must know secrets visit www.verysupersexylingerie.com

Source: Submit Articles at ArticlesBase.com

About the Author:

Stephanie is the owner of La Bella Amour Lingerie, the premier on-line boutique offering a full line of lingerie and a bridal registry. You can visit the boutique at http://www.labelleamourlingerie.com