1 Line your serving trays with a sheet of cork (you can get it at any upmarket departmental store) cut to size - this prevents condensation from making glasses slippery.
2 A quick-and-stylish summer dessert: use an icecream scoop to make icecream balls on a baking sheet. Stick an icecream stick into each scoop and put in the freezer till frozen. Take out, roll in toasted nuts, liqueur, syrup or crushed candy, and put back in the freezer on a tray lined with a baking sheet, till the toppings set.
3 Buy a few yards of patterned outdoor fabric and get your tailor to make outdoor-friendly covers for your floor cushions. You've got temporary outdoor seating for rare pleasant evenings.
4 Keep buying fresh flowers only to have them wilt in a couple of days? Get the "floral" effect by hanging framed prints of florals, or framed floral tapestry across the home; including bathrooms and guest powder rooms. Even a stunning square of floral gift-wrap paper, when framed, can become a piece of art.
5 If you get strong sunlight direct on your windows, get a layer of UV film on them (the stuff you use on your car windows). You will find a noticeable reduction in the intensity of the sun's glare.
6 Clean all the glass in your home - from windows to cabinet doors and mirrors. If you don't have store bought glass cleaner handy, a mixture of vinegar and water is effective. Clean glass adds a noticeable fresh sparkle to your rooms at zero cost.
7 Rid your home of musty winter smells by placing half a cup of vinegar in open bowls in different corners of each room. Vinegar absorbs strong scents, including one of the hardest smells to rid of - cigarette smoke!
8 With airconditioners on and windows firmly closed, ridding your home of strong food flavours can be tough. A useful trick, especially when expecting guests, is to put a pan of water on the gas, add some whole cinnamon and cloves, and boil for 10-odd minutes. Throw in some lemon and/or orange peel, if handy. The spices will release their strong fragrance and mask "tadka" and frying aromas. Also try essential oils in water.
9 Use kites to add an unexpected dose of colour, pattern and fun to your space - you can have just one, or a collection, perched above a WC in the bathroom, lining a staircase wall or taped to the wall in a row above a teenager's bed. This makes for cheap and light summer décor!
10 Paint the inside of a bookshelf or storage cupboard with fresh colour. Lime, sunflower yellow, orange and leafy greens look "cool". And the unexpected burst of colour on the inside - rather than exterior - of the shelf, will become a talking point when entertaining guests.
Top 10 tips for the SUMMER season
Tips for flawless complexion
Skin consists of melanin protein which causes pigmentation and its care includes cleansing, moisturizing, toning. Eat fresh vegetables and dry fruits like almond, walnut, apricot and pista for skin care.
Maintain a healthy balanced diet and adequate sleep in order to keep a youthful and beautiful tone for life long.
• Take milk every morning to maintain beauty.
• Almonds are natural moisturizers since they contain high dosage of vitamin E and oil extracted from almonds is used for treating dark circles and excessively dry skin.
• Apricot - helps to refresh the skin and gives a glow and luster to skin.
• Pista - helps to main cellular protection and hydration to skin.
• Vitamin A - helps to protect against sun damage; sources include broccoli, carrots, mango, papaya, spinach, sweet potato, tomatoes and watermelon.
• Vitamin B - helps to maintain healthy skin tone; sources include banana, fish, eggs, meat, poultry, and whole grains.
• Vitamin C - helps to support structure for the skin; sources include orange, lime, lemon, guava, Indian gooseberry, strawberries and green and red peppers.
• Vitamin E - helps to slow down the ageing process; sources include almonds, leafy vegetables, legumes and salmon fish.
• Selenium and Zinc - Oyster is a very good source of both zinc and selenium, other sources include mushrooms, seafood, soybeans, wheat germ and whole grains.
Besides having a healthy meal it is very important to drink lots of water to keep the skin well hydrated and maintain elasticity and regular exercise helps to supply more oxygen to skin cells, reduce wrinkles, crow's feet and bagginess around eyes.
Kitchen Products To Improve Skin Appearance
Curd/Yogurt :Removing Tan and Soothing Sunburn
The summer sun has darkened your sun by several shades. Not a problem.
Apply a little homemade curd on the affected areas of the skin. It will not only help in soothing the sun burn but will also clear away the tan. If you don’t make curd at home, the packaged variety will also do. Do not use curd if you have oily or sensitive skin.
Lemon Juice & Glycerine: Removing Tan and Fairness.
While curd works well to remove tan, it’s not a good option for facial skin that’s sensitive, oily or susceptible to acne. Curd, rather, all milk products contain
bacteria that may aggravate the problem of acne if applied directly to the skin. So a better option for acne ridden skin is to apply lemon juice mixed with glycerine. The mixture should be strictly on a 50-50 basis. Add equal amounts of lemon juice and glycerine, apply it on the face and keep it for 15 -20 minutes, and then wash it off with cold water.
Lemon Juice : Hair Lightening
Lemon juice, because it is mildly acidic, works well in lightening the color of hair. So if you want to lighten your hair color, rinse it with a mixture of three quarter cups of water and one quarter of lemon juice. Works better than those hair coloring products.
Cucumber : Tired Eyes and Dark circles
Tired and puffy eyes make you look overworked and fatigued. So while a good long nap would be a great idea, one of the best possible quick fix solutions would be to place a slice of cucumber on each eye and relax for a 20 -25 minutes.
Tea bags: Puffy Eyes and Foot Deodorant
Another very effective way of making tired, sore eyes sparkle with energy is to soak a tea bag in lukewarm water for a few minutes and then place one on each eye. Leave them there for about 20 minutes.
If you suffer from the infamous stinky feet syndrome, boil four to five tea bags or about three teaspoons of tea leaves in a quart of water and wait for it cool down to room temperature. Then add some cold water to the solution and soak your feet for 30 minutes. Dry your feet and apply medicated foot powder. At the height of your foot problem, follow this procedure twice a day, and once the odor is cured, do it twice a week for prevention.
Orange Juice : Skin Toning
Orange juice's vitamin C content makes it an excellent toner. When massaged into the face, it helps in removing excess grime and grease that can’t be removed with soap alone. To make the toner, blend half an orange, one and a half teaspoons of lemon juice and a quarter of a cup of water. The mixture should be blended till it is smooth. Then soak a cotton ball in it and apply it on the face.
Yogurt, Gram flour and Turmeric : Improving complexion
For a smooth, clear and blemish free complexion, mix three spoonfuls of curd with a single spoon of Channa (gram) flour or besan and a small teaspoon of haldi (turmeric). Mix to make a thick, smooth paste. Apply evenly all over the face and leave it on for twenty minutes. Rinse it off with cold water.
Vinegar: Dandruff
Gently massage your scalp with a little malt vinegar, and leave on for 15-20 minutes. Wash off with a gentle herbal shampoo. For a serious dandruff problem, then repeat this procedure at least three times a week for two weeks.
Honey and Olive Oil: Hair conditioner
Make a smooth paste by mixing two spoonfuls of fresh honey with a single spoon of olive oil. Massage into your hair, starting with the roots and ending with the tips of your hair. Then, keep your hair covered with a shower cap and let the mixture seep in deep into your scalp. After 20 minutes, use a gentle herbal shampoo to rinse off the mixture.
Black Tea Bag: Lips
Soak a bag of black tea in warm water, and press it on your lips for about 10 minutes. You can repeat the procedure as many times as you want. Black tea's high tannin content will make your lips taut and smooth.
Coriander Leaves : Lips
Massaging your lips with the juice of Coriander leaves (dhania) will makes your lips rosy and soft.
Grated Potatoes : Dark Circles
Potatoes contain catecholase, used as skin lighteners in cosmetics, and can also used to treat under eye circles. Grate a raw potato, squeeze the juice and apply it underneath the eyes. Leave it on for fifteen minutes and then rinse with cool water.
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How Can I treat Gambling Addiction?
1) Group Therapy:
Gamblers Anonymous offers a 12 step self help program similar to the one offered to alcohol addicts in Alcoholics Anonymous. Group therapy also offers gambling addicts advice and support from professional counselors and other gambling addicts in
different phases of their recovery process. Gambler Anonymous centers are available in more than 1,200 locations statewide.
2) Individual Therapy:
Cognitive or behavior therapy can help gambling addicts to identify their unaware thinking and acting patterns, which led them to gamble compulsively, and to replace them with controllable and healthier ways of thinking.
3) Psychiatric Medication:
It has recently been proven that antidepressant medications from the family of SSRIs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors can be affective in treatment of gambling addicts.
Financial Planning for Worry-Free Retirement
It is extremely important to generate some methods that will provide an individual a reasonable amount of money in the future. This should be done regardless of how much an individual earns, the important thing is to start saving today.
1. Visualize and calculate
It is important for a person to visualize his or her own situation after retirement. Then, you can calculate how much money is needed to live on after retirement. Furthermore, people need earnings that compensate 75% of the present amount that he or she is expected to take home.
2. It is important to seek the help of a financial planner or any person competent in financial planning.
By asking for advice from the experts, you will be able to gain more knowledge know how to proceed for you situation. These people are proficient and knowledgeable in all kinds of financial planning and they can provide the most feasible and workable approach for your individual needs.
3. Get rid of loans, debts, and other financial obligations in as little time as possible.
By simply paying off all debts, loans, and other financial obligations in a shorter period of time, you can realize a substantial amount to invest for that retirement. A good financial planner will know exactly how to direct you so you can meet your retirement goals.
Confidence - Worth Read
A business executive was deep in debt and could see no way out.
Creditors were closing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment. He sat on the park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy.
Suddenly an old man appeared before him. "I can see that something is troubling you," he said. After listening to the executive's woes, the old man said, "I believe I can help you."
He asked the man his name, wrote out a check, and pushed it into his hand saying, "Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time."
Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come.
The business executive saw in his hand a check for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world!
"I can erase my money worries in an instant!" he realized. But instead, the executive decided to put the uncashed check in his safe. Just knowing it was there might give him the strength to work out a way to save his business, he thought.
With renewed optimism, he negotiated better deals and extended terms of payment. He closed several big sales. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.
Exactly one year later, he returned to the park with the uncashed check. At the agreed-upon time, the old man appeared. But just as the executive was about to hand back the check and share his success story, a nurse came running up and grabbed the old man.
"I'm so glad I caught him!" she cried. "I hope he hasn't been bothering you. He's always escaping from the rest home and telling people he's John D. Rockefeller."
And she led the old man away by the arm.
The astonished executive just stood there, stunned.
All year long he'd been wheeling and dealing, buying and selling, convinced he had half a million dollars behind him.
Suddenly, he realized that it wasn't the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his new found self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after.
INTERESTING AND THOUGHT PROVOKING
One day all the employees reached the office and they saw a big advice on the door on which it was written:
"Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been
prepared in the gym".
In the beginning, they all got sad for the death of one of their
colleagues, but after a while they started getting curious to know who
was that man who hindered the growth of his colleagues and the company
itself.
The excitement in the gym was such that security agents were ordered to
control the crowd within the room.
The more people reached the coffin, the more the excitement heated up.
Everyone thought: "Who is this guy who was hindering my progress? Well,
at least he died!".
One by one the thrilled employees got closer to the coffin, and when
they looked inside it they suddenly became speechless. They stood nearby
the coffin, shocked and in silence, as if someone had touched the
deepest part of their soul.
There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it
could see himself.
There was also a sign next to the mirror that said:
"There is only one person who is capable to set limits to your growth:
it is YOU.
You are the only person who can revolutionize your life. You are the
only person who can influence your happiness, your realization and your
success. You are the only person who can help yourself.
Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends
change, when your parents change, when your partner changes, when your
company changes. Your life changes when YOU change, when you go beyond
your limiting beliefs, when you realize that you are the only one
responsible for your life.
"The most important relationship you can have, is the one you have with
yourself"
Examine yourself, watch yourself. Don't be afraid of difficulties,
impossibilities and losses: be a winner, build yourself and your
reality.
The world is like a mirror: it gives back to anyone the reflection of
the thoughts in which one has strongly believed.
The world and your reality are like mirrors laying in a coffin, which
show to any individual the death of his divine capability to imagine and
create his happiness and his success.
It's the way you face Life that makes the difference.
A nice Story about Friendship
A story tells that two friends,were walking through the desert.
During some point of the, Journey they had an Argument, and one friend
Slapped the other one In the face.
The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything,
wrote in the sand:
TODAY MY BEST FRIEND
SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE .
They kept on walking until they found an oasis,
where they decided
to take a bath.
The one who had been
slapped got stuck in the
mire and started drowning,
but the friend saved him.
After he recovered from
the near drowning,
he wrote on a stone:
TODAY MY BEST FRIEND
SAVED MY LIFE.
The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend
asked him, "After I hurt you,
you wrote in the sand and now,
you write on a stone, why?"
The other friend replied
"When someone hurts us
we should write it down
in sand where winds of
forgiveness can erase it away.
But, when someone does
something good for us,
we must engrave it in stone
where no wind
can ever erase it."
LEARN TO WRITE
YOUR HURTS IN
THE SAND AND TO
CARVE YOUR
BENEFITS IN STONE!!!
They say it takes a
minute to find a special
person, an hour to
appreciate them, a day
to love them, but then
an entire life
to forget them.
Send this phrase to
the people you'll never
forget. If you don't
send it to anyone,
it means you're in a
hurry and that you've
forgotten your friends.
Take the time to live!
Do not value the THINGS
you have in your life. But value
WHO you have in your life!
10 Relaxation Tips for Busy People-By Melanie Winderlich
Does this schedule seem familiar to you?
Walk the dog; get ready for work; see kids off to school; sit in traffic; go to work; impress supervisors; run errands before going home; prepare dinner; help with homework; walk dog; fall asleep on couch, and then do it again tomorrow.
Our days are crammed with activities and responsibilities that can get overwhelming. But no matter how busy you get, it remains important to pay attention to the connection between your mind and body. Without the proper relaxation techniques in place, stress can damage your health.
Stress Relief: Why You Should Care
What triggers stress for you may not be the same as what triggers it for your spouse or your friends, since sources of stress can vary from person to person. The problem is that regardless of the trigger, continuous stress can have a negative impact on health. Constant stress wears down many of the body's systems and affects important organs.
For example, the liver produces more glucose with the release of stress hormones —
bad news for busy people susceptible to type 2 diabetes, since the extra blood sugar may not be reabsorbed completely. The lungs may also start working overtime during a stressful period, which could be a potentially dangerous situation if you have asthma, emphysema, or another respiratory condition. Stress can even damage your immune system, opening the flood gates to infection and illness.
Stress doesn't discriminate against age, race, or profession. Your body and mind are always susceptible to the pressures of everyday life. And if you're constantly on the go and dealing with stress in an unhealthy manner by overeating, smoking, or drinking alcohol, these coping mechanisms will only end up worsening your overall health.
Stress Relief: The Relaxation Response
Here are 10 steps to channel a calmer you:
1. "The body has an inborn response that's opposite to the 'flight-or-fight response' — it's the relaxation response," says Herbert Benson, MD, director emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. "There are scores of techniques that will bring forth this relaxation response.” Finding one that works best for you can be part of the fun.
The following 10 relaxation activities allow busy people to undo the trap of their own hectic schedules:
* meditation
* deep breathing
* walking
* laughter
* prayer
* yoga
* tai chi
* knitting or crocheting
* massage
* listening to soft music
2. “Repetition, which can include word, sound, prayer, or movement, and the disregard of other thoughts, breaks the train of everyday thinking," says Dr. Benson. As you’re exploring relaxing activities, sample those that use repetition.
3. To get into the relaxation habit, practice a repetitive exercise for 10 to 20 minutes, once or twice per day. That’s the dose it takes to counteract stress and bring about the relaxation response, says Benson.
4. Keep in mind that activity can bring stress relief. For example, tai chi combines the therapeutic results of meditation and deep breathing along with slow yet constant motion. Want to rev it up? Know that even the most intense exercise can clear your mind of other thoughts as you focus on it.
5. Be sure to choose the relaxation technique that seems most appealing and suits your comfort level. If you aren’t getting the same results from yoga as your best friend, try another type of stress relief.
6. Remember that relaxation doesn’t have to be so serious. Laughter is a great stress reliever, so try watching a favorite sit-com or a classic screwball comedy movie.
7. Still unsure of how to begin? Benson recommends just sitting quietly for about 20 minutes and relaxing all your muscles, starting with your feet. Roll your head, shrug your shoulders, sit at ease, breathe slowly, and silently say a word like "peace" or "calm." If other thoughts interrupt, just let them go and continue reflecting. "If you only think about words like 'peace' and 'calm,' you don't think about the stress of life — the brain is no longer focused on stressful thoughts," says Benson.
8. Many relaxation techniques can be performed at specific moments when you need to de-stress the most. For example, next time you’re stuck in a traffic jam, try listening to soft music and breathing deeply.
9. If you tend to work through your lunch hour, begin using part of it for a relaxation session; take a walk or do some knitting — the repetitive nature of that handicraft can be very soothing, plus you get a tangible “expression” of the activity when you finish each project.
10. No matter how busy you are, set aside time every day to develop a habit of stress relief, says Benson. Set an alarm if you have to &madash; just make the time to squeeze in some solid relaxation.
You can't avoid stress completely, but you can learn better ways to manage the intensity of stressful situations.
40 Tips for Better Life
1. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day. And while you walk, smile.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
3. Sleep for at least 7 hours.
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
5. Play more games.
6. Read more books than you did last year.
7. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
9. Dream more while you are awake.
10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
11. Drink plenty of water.
12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
13. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
14. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his / her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
15. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
16. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
17. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
18. Smile and laugh more.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
22. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
23. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about. Don't compare your partner with others'.
24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
25. Forgive every one for every thing.
26. What other people think of you is none of your business.
27. GOD heals everything.
28. However good or bad a situation is -- it will change.
29. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Friends will. Stay in touch.
30. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
31. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
32. The best is yet to come.
33. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
34. Do the right thing !
35. Call your family often.
36. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.
37. Each day give something good to others.
38. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
39. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
40. Please Forward this to everyone you care about.
TAKE CARE...... LOVE YOURSELF
