As we go through life, we are faced with many obstacles, and sometimes we make the wrong decision, assumption, and sometimes we just simply make mistakes. We are all human, we all make mistakes and in reality we all can learn from them.

After making a mistake, its normal to feel bad about what we did. We wonder how or why we made that mistake, regretting it, and sometimes we may even dwell on it to the point of feeling depressed. Of course its ok to feel bad about it, but don’t feel bad for too long because life does go on.

Through the years I have learned to look at my mistakes and turn them into a lesson for myself, a positive lesson. No matter what the situation is, I learn and grow from it, and if ever put in the same situation again, the outcome is a more positive one.

The next time you make a mistake, accept it, deal with it and then think about the positive lesson you can learn from it. You may be able to give someone great advice based on mistakes you have made.

Mistakes are all a part of life; they are things we can call our own. Learn from your mistakes because life is a never-ending lesson.

Where would we be without mothers? In my opinion, Motherhood is very special profession. Motherhood also has very unique and demanding characteristics that are frequently misunderstood. Let me tell you why I believe that motherhood is an amazing and special profession.

Motherhood is the most important profession in the world. Mothers are entrusted, and are almost totally responsible for the health, care, training, morals, security, emotional strengths, attitudes, social understanding discipline, and learning success of their children. Collectively, mothers control the development and growth of almost all children in the world, who eventually mature into adults. The relationships children and even adults have with their mothers shape who they become as adults. The results of the efforts of mothers are universal, extremely powerful, everlasting, and extremely important to every person on the globe. Unfortunately, motherhood is not given the respect and honor it deserves, as the world shaping profession it is.

Motherhood is a very difficult and diverse profession. Mothers are required to possess the knowledge, practice the skills, and perform the duties of so many different life functions that it would be impossible to list them all. Here are but a few. Mothers must successfully perform as nurses, cooks, nutritionists, teachers, trainers, educators, coaches, therapists, disciplinarians, financial advisors, protectors, cleaning specialists, transportation specialists, sports enthusiasts, clothing and appearance specialists, peacemakers, mediators, and spiritual advisors. Wow!

Mothers are given little, if any, prior formal training. A vast majority of the knowledge, skills, and experience of performing all of the important motherhood life functions are learned ON THE JOB. I know of no college or university that teaches or trains mothers. They must learn motherhood on their own, and by following their instincts. Other professions like attorneys, medical doctors, and dentists, must attend anywhere from six-to-ten years of additional education after high school to be qualified to begin their profession. Yet, mothers are required to be fully knowledgeable of all motherhood requirements and operate at almost full speed from virtually the very beginning of motherhood, with very little, if any, training.

Motherhood is a non-income producing profession. Even though mothers perform the most important profession in the world, they rarely, if ever, generate monetary income from their motherhood efforts. Mothers are not paid to perform their multitude of very important duties and activities. Mothers are rarely paid to change diapers, prepare meals, or train their children. Mothers are frequently supported by their husbands, who are expected to generate enough income to pay for their needs. Unfortunately today, there appears to be an increasing trend of expecting mothers to continue performing their full time motherhood professional duties and also work at an income-producing job to generate money.

The time and energy demands on mothers diminish with time. As the youngest child grows up, the time demands, effort demands, mental involvement, and personal contact by mothers with their children will shrink. Motherhood with young babies is almost a 24 hours, seven days a week profession. Think of the relief mothers feel when their youngest baby finally sleeps through the night for the first time, without awakening for feeding or to have a diaper changed. The job requirements of motherhood are greatly reduced, as their youngest child goes off to school. Time and energy demands on mothers diminish even more as their youngest child continues to grow and attend even more out of the house activities. Eventually, mothers will be faced with an empty nest as the purposes of their motherhood vocation depart.

Mothers feel frustrated in their quest for a new profession. Mothers frequently feel stymied when they seek new careers. They feel inadequate because they have been out of the work force for so long, or because they feel they have less education than they think is necessary, or because they are older than other potential entry level workers, or because finding and applying for jobs and can be a daunting and confusing process. Unfortunately, the normal Human Resources culture of the corporate world and the owners of small business don’t always treat empty nest mothers as a valuable source of productive workers.

Mothers bring exceptional skills and experience to the workplace. Mothers are far more qualified and far more valuable producers than they, or the business world realizes. The skills, experience, knowledge, sense of responsibility, wisdom, patience, leadership, organizational capabilities, resourcefulness, human relationship capabilities, and other real life skills that mothers developed over the years of motherhood are extremely valuable to people who recognize their true worth.

If you are a mother at this stage in life…

You will want to fill the void with another supportive profession. You will always be a mother to your children. However, you will experience a void when your children begin to leave home. You will eventually want (and most often need) to fill this void with another career or work position. At some point in time, you will want to convert your experience, your energies, your need for achievement, your need for involvement, your passions, and your knowledge that was fulfilled through full-time motherhood into something else. You will want to discover and operate in a new profession, or work position, or career that allows you to fulfill your many passions and desires. You want to do this without interfering with mother-related responsibilities and on your own terms.

You will want to take control of your work selection process. You will not want to rely on the unappreciative and unmotivated corporate and business worlds to select the right professions for you. When you take control over your work selection process, you will be able to discover your true value and unleash your energies towards a new career that will be an excellent fit for you at this new point in life. When you chose the new career that best suits your passions, priorities, experiences and talents you will achieve exceptional successes. You will also discover how much easier it will be to attract significant monetary and personal rewards when you operate in the new career that you love. It is never too late for you to capitalize on what you have to offer and what you want to do, when you focus your efforts towards the right work situation for you.

It’s time to consider yourself first for once. The key to you being able to discover then attain the next career that best suits you is to look within yourself first. You come with a multitude of different experiences and priorities. Many times you are faced with option overload when you try to pick the right post full-time motherhood career. You have also focused so much of your time, energy, and thinking on the growth and improvement of your children (and spouse) that you have forgotten to take care of yourself. You will want to stop, take a deep breath, and seek what you want out of the rest of your life.

Find the right person to assist you. How will you be able to change directions and concentrate on yourself first, to discover what personal motivations you have, after years of putting others first? You will want to find the right person who will focus only on you as a person and assist you to unravel the mystery of who you are and who you want to become. You want someone who is highly motivated to assist you, who is trustworthy, who is objective, who is nonjudgmental, and has done this before. You might consider using a friend, but objectivity becomes an issue. You could consider using a therapist, but you do not need to be fixed. Another alternative would be to consider using a professional life coach to support you in this process. We have found that mothers who use a life coach transitioned into wonderful and enjoyable new lives, without interfering with their motherhood.

Conclusion

Now you see why I believe that Motherhood is the most intriguing, important, and under appreciated profession in the world. Yet, most mothers don’t anticipate that motherhood also has a very unique and misunderstood reduction in the time and effort demands as their children grow up. As a mother, you will want to recognize and plan for the need to re-direct your wonderful talents and passions towards a new vocation as the daily demands of motherhood wind down. Making the transition to a new vocation can be daunting. The best course for you to take control over this transition and select the right vocation for you is to seek assistance from the right person, and not try to do it alone.

The end of summer is once again here and there isn’t much to
smile about. It does mark the beginning of the best swimwear
sales, though. This short lived season will bring sunny days at
least for a few weeks.

Designer
swimwear specials need to be taken advantage of. Whether you
shop online, out of a catalog, or in the good old-fashioned
mall, you won’t find any shortage of cute swimsuits at very low
prices.

There are some risks to shopping late in the season, even if the
deals are good. It is important to pick the swimsuit that can
also be worn next season. Here are some good ideas to choosing
bikinis and one-piece suits that won’t become outdated:

• Solid colors. Although prints and patterns are trendy, they
  are exactly that. Who knows what next summer will be. Just use
  common sense.
• Eight colors. The original eight. Pastels
  were cool for a couple of years in the eighties, and then they
  disappeared. The Crayola eight will be stylish next year.
• Stick to the basics. Once again, stay away from the current
  fads. They will change. Unless you want to be the only one on
  the beach with a slingshot.
• Trust the best. Top
  designers have a knack for creating styles with staying power.
  Now you can afford them.
• Buy from the designer. They
  will have the most updated selections and there won’t be any
  sifting to find the right size top to match those cute bikini
  bottoms

There are some exceptions to the rules, only keep in mind the
consequences of bikini obsolescence. If you are planning a
winter vacation to the tropics, feel free to pick the suit of
your choice. Just don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Taking advantage of these great discounted times will make next
summer even better. You’ll get compliments on your great style,
just don’t tell them the suits were cheap. While you’re shopping
the deals in swimwear, don’t forget about the cool accessories
like wraps, towels, hats, and beach bags.

A ninety million pound commercial centre has been given preliminary approval by Glasgow council. Atlantic Square will incorporate a leisure centre, six storey hotel and additional 227,000 sq feet of offices at Broomielaw Quay. The International Financial Services District (IFSD) is currently situated at the site, before, amongst Glasgow’s most run down areas. Since 2001, more than a billion pounds has been ploughed into the IFSD, which has attracted some of the UK’s top companies, creating more than fifteen thousand jobs (for a complete and customised commercial and office relocation service, click on Claremont)

Atlantic Square will replace the original ten year plan for the IFSD and it’s believed the proposed centre will create another 2500 jobs. Developers, the Capella Group, plan to keep the original 19^th century faade of warehouses on James Watt St, where twenty two workers died in a tragic fire thirty years ago. The square’s central focus point will be an impressive courtyard, which will provide a sheltered area for visitors and workers to relax. Plus, improved pedestrian access has been accounted for.

Jim Fitzsimons is chief executive for the Capella Group, and believes the new centre will be a success, despite the current economic crisis. The IFSD has already proven to be a success, and the new centre, already nicknamed the “Wall Street on The Clyde”, will provide a generous amount of office space for companies. Fitzsimons is optimistic that Atlantic Square will provide a big push for Glasgow and will accommodate further commercial expansion in the area.

The never ending battle against the Media and it`s bogus idea of the “PERFECT WOMAN”. *sigh*

Lately I have been studying the media, reading articles, watching news, and looking for anything that I can find to make me feel that there is still hope for our world. If you have read any of my past blogs, then you will already know where my concerns lie.

For those of you that are just reading me for the first time, my concerns are strong regarding women of today and their search for the true identity of themselves.

Women today have fierce competition. I have spoken to many men also and they have strongly let me know that they would not trade their gender for any amount of money. They actually feel sorry for the women of today. A few of them even shared with me that they hate the fact that everywhere they look, the media’s idea of, “The Perfect Women” is stuck in their faces. Sure its nice to see, any human being will appreciate a nice looking picture. What happens at that very minute though is that they (the men) are put in a situation of feeling that they are betraying their partner by not knowing exactly how to react. I know, I know, some of you are thinking that it is the women’s fault that the men think that way. I will agree in some cases, but these men that I have spoken to were being quite genuine in the fact that they themselves did not appreciate it.

I will be the first one to say yes to prostitution. Why? Because it keeps some of the damn rapists of the streets from attacking the unwilling women. I say yes to pornography; it keeps the men that are afraid to approach real women relieved of a very needed natural release. I also say yes to alcohol and to chocolate with ice cream, but my dear readers, before you frown on me for what I just said, hear me say this. “I do not condone the force and uncontrolled manor with which the media shoves all this down our throats. I thought this was a free country. When did we lose the right to choose whether we want to have the media’s idea of, “The Perfect Woman”, shoved down our throats every time we turn on the television, walk into a bar, just drive down the road (billboards), open a magazine, listen to a song, or even simply look in our teenagers room.”

I was reading an article that was advertising the new television line ups for this falls season. I was horrified when I read about the graphic violence being used against women. Episodes showing a woman thrashing in a cage, with duct tape across her eyes, while a man’s hands are shown grabbing her bloodied fingers through the bars of the cage and ripping off her fingernails. Another is chained up like a dog in a basement by her so called loving husband. It gets worse; there is also one with a woman paralyzed by venomous spider bites and is being raped by a masked figure. These are what society is allowing for after dinner viewing. I am embarrassed to even say that this is my world seeing this. They made more noise when Janet Jackson slipped a peak of her nipple at a damn football game. In a word…SAD!! The media has definitely figured out how to make money at every woman’s expense.

On a much happier note, in my searching the worlds media I did find a very refreshing commercial put out by DOVE. It can be viewed at their website:

www.campaignforrealbeauty.com . “Cheers Dove” is all I can say. Dove is pushing hard and continuing an uphill climb to bring back what was put on this earth as, The Real Women.

I also ran into an article trying to cut this refreshing change down. The magazine people that pride themselves on using air-brushed models with unrealistic looks, called the Dove girls in this commercial, “civilians”. Ha! Now that is a very obvious show of defeat. They’re even trying to say that women of today will not want to buy from ads that do not promise you unrealistic beauty. Ladies, the media is in fact calling you stupid as far as I read. I take that as an out right insult.

It’s about time that someone stood up and gave the media’s negative actions a run for their money. Money made at real women’s expense, as I said already once. They also mention something as silly as women worry if they looked fat in their pants, as being an old age insecurity. DUH! No one ever said it was new, jeesh. I am also curious just how far women today are willing to let the media’s idea of “The Perfect Woman” go. We are already the butt-end of the cosmetic surgery joke. I feel that the only reason any woman would be turned off by Dove’s real women, is because they have been so brain washed into thinking that the media’s idea of “The Perfect Women” is what is real. I feel sorry for them. Ladies of today, we must stand up and fight back. Do not let them turn, what is suppose to be real, into barbie dolls.

So many women are confused about what is, and what is not. Why do you think so many women suffer from low self-esteem, with cosmetic surgery at every street corner and so many unrealistic expectations coming to us from the media on how a women is suppose to look? Blah, blah. It’s no wonder women are so confused.

Well I know that there is strength in numbers and I do know that there are more women today that are sick of all of the media’s ideas. Ladies with low-self esteem, stand up, go to the store, and support DOVE. So what? They make money and yes, maybe there is a bit of truth that they too are using us as a way to profit. But at least we have a place to start to turn things around. We will never be able to turn them back, but we can make them work for us, not against us. Oh if anyone thinks that Dove has asked me, or payed me to speak of them in my blog, NO and NO. I am speaking on behalf of every women out there has been damaged by all the garbage that the media is trying to run our world with. Womens Selfesteem.com is happy to say that Dove is doing a very good thing, on the “real women” of today’s behalf.

“Don’t back down just to keep the peace,

Standing up for your beliefs builds self-confidence and self-esteem.”

-Oprah Winfrey

Dorothy Lafrinere
Owner/Operator
Website- http://www.womensselfesteem.com
Weblog- http://www.justblogme.com/Dorothy
Forum- http://womenselfesteem.proboards29.com
email- dorothy@womensselfesteem.com

BPH, or benign prostate hyperplasia, is a well known medical term commonly used for a swollen prostate gland. Put simply this means that the prostate gland, a mass similar in shape to a walnut sited just beneath the bladder and wrapping around the urethra, enlarges and this can reduce or possibly stop the stream of urine. As many males age, the prostate grows and as a result may engender ailments such as problems passing water, weakened urinary stream, and even urinary retention. Frequent nighttime trips to the bathroom and infections of the urinary tract may additionally be produced by an enlarged prostate gland.

Prostate Swelling - Medical Therapy: — Prostatic enlargement is considered a common problem of men over sixty. Yearly tests are suggested for all men over 50, even if no problems look to be observed, for the upkeep of prostatic wellness. Look For medical intervention directly if blood appears in the urine or you are unable to urinate.

Solutions for prostate enlargement may be surgery and medication. Nevertheless, surgery can result in more problems for example impotence or inability to control urination. High blood pressure drugs or drugs that reduce the abnormal prostate are often given to improve prostate gland wellness, however, medicines often lead to negative repercussions what alternative options are suggested?

Prostatic Enlargment Symptoms? Natures’s Way to a Healthier Prostate Gland: — To promote better prostate gland health and relieve the problems connected with an enlarged prostate, several treatments can be suggested. African pygeum keeps down inflammation, alleviating most of the more disagreeable symptoms. The herb African Pygeum has been extensively used for quite a few years in Europe as a formula for better prostate gland health, it is produced by a tree indigenous to southern Africa. Dietetic changes such as reducing the consumption of fats can also help, and in addition increasing exercise, a higher frequency of ejaculations to relieve the pressure in the prostate, and avoiding periods of prolonged sitting. Prostate Gland associated symptoms are often made worse by the usage of anti-histamines and decongestant medicines bought over the counter, so consume these sparingly. Reduction of caffeinated drinks and alcoholic beverage, do not drink close to retiring for the night this may keep down multiple urges to micturate during the night. Prostate Gland function can also respond to other natural remedies e.g. the herb saw palmetto, starflower oil, the element selenium, and also lycopene, a chemical found in tomatoes. Before beginning that herbal therapy don’t forget to talk over your intent with a physician.

The chances of scooping the EURO MILLIONS jack-pot is a distant one : seventy-six million but the chances of winning a money prize is a somewhat decent one : twenty-four. If the jackpot is not won on a given lotto draw, it is brought forward to the following week that will result in an ever increasing jackpot value. Recent regulations added on the 2007-02-07 restrict the amount of consecutive rollovers to 11, with the jackpot rolling down to smaller value levels in the 11th lotto draw if the prize is not won.

The Euro millions lottery or the Euro Lottery, as it’s usually better-known, pools the lottery ticket revenues of the nine partaking Euro countries delivering a whopping Euro Lotto jackpot. With the number of countries joining the Euro on the increase, that will without a doubt lead to even more countries participating in the EuroMillions lotto. An increase in the amount of people partaking in the Euro Millions lottery will lead to a continued growth of the already enormous Euro Lotto jackpots.

The recent regulations likewise initiated Euro Millions Super-Draw which come about twice yearly plus they offer jackpots in the region of 100 million pounds. The difference with Super Draws is that the jackpot must be collected during the week of the lotto draw; this means, when there is no ticket matching, all the numbers drawn and the top prize will then be distributed to the lottery ticket holder(s) in the succeeding winning prize level.

Every player must pick out five main numbers from one to fifty and 2 Lucky Star numbers from one to nine. During the draw, five main plus 2 lucky-star numbers are then picked out at random from 2 lotto draw machines containing numbered lotto balls.

Aquafinatic and I headed out for some skyway fishing at 1:30pm or so…our plans were to hit up the north pier in search for bait. We setup a sabiki, and in no time, felt the tap-tap…fish on! Upon reeling up our first batch of bait, it was a lone squirrelfish…ended up cutting em up for bait to try for pinfish. After an hour or so of squirrelfish, i started getting little fustrated…where were all the pinfish! Aqua tried another spot, and told me the mackeral were on the chew…time for some mackeral action. The action was nonstop…there was a couple next to us that couldn’t get a bite, so i showed them how to rig up there poles, and gave em some bait…they instantly hooked up We got plenty of mackeral, so we decided to try for the pinfish one more time…again, nothing. Now, aqua, pucky and I headed to the southpier to try our luck on pinfish…still a no show but the threadfins were abundant. Met up with josh and stephanie and tried for grouper on what bait we did have. Pucky got rocked, aqua got 2 or 3 shorts, and I got a dolphin haha Later tried for some shark, and had my 10/0 hook straighten, and josh had one on, but lost it too. Got clued in on some nice shark fishing tips though so that was cool. In the same area, stephanie lost a nice fish, possible a tarpon, that ran straight under the pier. After pranking each other, as always (hmmm, a ladyfish ate my bait, then died??? look, someone jumped a big tarpon…zzzzzzzzzzzz, then some more zzzzzzzzzzzzzz haha you had to be there to understand) it was getting late and decided to head out. Not as productive as our pasted trips, but as always, good to be out with good friends, on a beautiful full moon night.

It’s been said that silver jewelry makes a person look youthful and energetic, while gold makes a person look sophisticated and mature. Hence, silver is a popular choice of the young for their adornments. It is also more practical, as it costs less than gold jewelry and is more widely available. There are more specialty shops that sell silver earrings, rings necklaces and bracelets, for example, than those that specialize in gold jewelry.

Silver jewelry has the impressive quality of being both affordable and stylish. Silver earrings are by no means “cheap” — in fact, it is highly recommended as a complement to dark clothing, making for a very elegant and chic combination. Silver sets off dark colors and plays more on contrast, which makes for an extremely effective fashion statement. Silver jewelry and black attire is a favorite ensemble of artistes, as well as advocates of the popular “goth” movement.

All over the world, and throughout history, silver is thought of as a complement to gold. Silver as an element has been associated with the moon, while gold has been associated with the sun. The moon makes soft, mesmerizing silver ripples as it is reflected on a still lake. Its close relationship with moon imagery has made silver the color most commonly associated with dreams, fantasy and magic. Folklore has also endowed silver with special powers and healing properties.

Celebrities have also been known to patronize silver earrings. Oprah Winfrey and Sandra Bullock have sported chic chandelier-type silver pieces more than once. It is always interesting and a pleasure to behold the various styles and designs of celebrities’ silver jewelry, especially if it is worn in taste and in style.

A person who is building a collection of earrings should consider investing in a silver earring collection. In addition to being practical, the designs are immensely diverse and it doesn’t hurt to know that silver earrings are all the rage!

Chocolate fountains, once a rarity at weddings, are becoming more common — but no less beloved. Still, they pose a budget crunch for many brides, coming in at only slightly under the cost of the wedding cake — and that’s for a one-day rental!

If you’re like us, there’s something that just burns our little Yankee hearts about spending over $400 to rent a machine that granted, costs a little over ten times that, but gets rented out many times. And yet if you’re like us, you really want a way to fit that chocolate fountain in.

We’re both in luck, because higher-end chocolate fountains are coming to the home market and becoming more accessible … even to skinflints!

What We Didn’t Buy — And Why

You’ve seen the early entrants, maybe on eBay — inexpensive chocolate fountains made by lesser-known brands selling for about eighty bucks. You’ve probably thought of trying one out, just because the price difference between that and a rental machine was so astronomical.

We did too, but as we read about the small, cheap versions, we ran into a lot of complaints. One of the most worrisome was that the cheap fountains made such a loud grinding noise, you couldn’t have a conversation standing next to one — which was not the ambiance we wanted for our party.

Further, we weren’t sure if we wanted to keep the fountain over the long term. We wanted to buy something with good resale value so we could recapture our money if needed.

Fortunately, as our deadline approached, Sephra — the standard in high-end rental fountains — began offering pre-orders on their first home market fountains. We snapped one up for about $250, an attractive fountain that holds five pounds of chocolate. The fountains were so new, we had to switch our order from the lovely cherry red we’d wanted to a stainless steel in order to get it in time. But we got it.

Showtime … And a Few Tips

Once acquired, it was time to test it out in live conditions! The first party we unveiled it at was on the small side, with about 25 people. Set-up was simple. The experience did, however, teach us some tips:

Try out and get comfortable with your chocolate fountain before a really big affair. You won’t really understand the logic behind the instruction book until you try it. For example:

1) The chocolate fountain really does need to be balanced to work properly. Sephra models offer adjustable feet to accomplish this. When we first set up our fountain, we were so busy we didn’t level it, and it didn’t flow well until an left brained type in shining armor fixed it for us. Then things worked 100% better.

2) When melting large quantities of chocolate, don’t even bother with a double burner. You need a glass bowl and a large microwave, which your venue hopefully provides. Heat gently, as advised — no higher than 50% power.

3) Also, Sephra provides you with a little tool for telling whether your chocolate’s melted enough to flow well. Err on the side of “too melted” rather than “not enough.” Especially given the minute or so it takes to transport it, the chocolate can easily get too thick for easy flowing.

With 25 very interested people, we nearly (but not quite) ran through our first five pounds of chocolate. So you can guesstimate needing a pound of chocolate per five invitees. Just be sure to have extra on hand.

We worried whether it would be difficult to refill the fountain — for example, whether we would have to lug the whole thing back into the kitchen, disassemble, refill — but it turned out to be dead simple. You just pour melted chocolate into the bottommost bowl.

Our Chocolatey Conclusions

Sephra is bringing larger versions of their fountain to the home market. For a large wedding or a party of several hundred, we would probably go with a larger version.

Yet you can also do very well with the five pound model. After all, it’s hard to melt, carry and otherwise handle more than five pounds of chocolate at once (you wouldn’t believe how many “chocolate chips” that is). All you need is someone willing to watch and refill periodically, which isn’t hard. Pick someone who can get slightly messy without a problem — not a bridesmaid in shiny taffeta.

If we’d had more time and a larger party, we’d probably get the largest fountain we could buy, care for it well, and resell it when the hoopla died down. That would save a huge chunk of change over the $400-500 one day rental, and bring the chocolate fountain within reach of a lot more brides (and happy guests).

And if you happen to fall in love with it and the day for selling it never comes?

Well, it happens. Just ask us.