Easy Ways to Add Life to Your Room

So often we tend to get bored with the way things look or are positioned in a room. But did you know by rearranging your furniture or adding a few accent pillows can give it a whole new look. For some, a new paint job of the entire room or accent walls will give that wow effect. Whether inspiration comes from a flower on your pillow or a beautiful lamp you love, when thinking of a new paint job we should firstly, decide what effect we want it to have. Example green suggests restful, calm while yellow says sunny, bright. Generally a muted color is best for backgrounds. While basic colors are nice to work with, by adding white to them we get a different tint or by adding black for another shade. This will indeed add interest and creativity to your work.


In a room lacking sunshine a warmer color is advised. A well decorated room should have areas of peace; a nice reading corner or a comfortable kick back chair, excitement; if using lighter colors for the background add a splash of color with window treatments, rugs or pillows and of course some texture, whether it may be a mix of different fabrics or surface areas.

Always decorate with a view of the room’s occupants; the type of fabric and furniture that would be most suitable for the room’s purpose. If you should make a choice between beauty and comfort… choose comfort!! I’d rather have a comfortable chair to sit on, rather than a beautiful one that offers nothing.

Effective Study Habits

It is said that the human mind forgets eighty percent of the knowledge it acquires within three days. And over the next eighteen days it continues this loss till it settles with only three percent of the original acquired information. It is therefore very important that we apply repetition in order to gain as much knowledge on particular topics. As the saying goes practice becomes perfect!


How much time do you need to study? A recommended two hours per day is sufficient. Anything more is an over kill and chances are not much will be retained as the brain needs time to absorb the inflow of information. When studying try not to be distracted, lock yourself away in a quiet area where you can focus. With all the study material at hand and no disturbances you can achieve a lot. Don’t forget, everything done in moderation is always better. When studying get a timetable so you can have fixed study periods each day, this will evidently prevent last minute cramming sessions.

Maintain your health; all work and no play make Jack a dull boy! Schedule for family, exercise, rest and you time. Eating healthy will make a big difference in your concentration level. Try eating smart foods such as berries and fish. Your brain prefers sugar to fuel it. But sugar in the form of glucose, having a healthy drink such as acai or orange juice before settling down will give the brain cells an extra boost. Fish is great brain food rich in omega 3 and fatty acids. Blueberries is said to help prevent oxidative stress in the brain. While some people take six hours rest per day or less. It is, however, recommended that you have eight hours to enable the cells to be strengthened and repaired.

Impress Her In 30 Minutes

Guys have you ever wanted to impress the other half but not enough time to do so. Well here’s a quick recipe that could help. It’s healthy and easy to do. For those who want to run home from work, make dinner, take a shower, get dressed and still look fabulous when the date arrives. They’ll be so surprised when they find out you did this all by yourself and of course you’ll have me to thank!!!


What you’ll need

½ bell pepper sliced

1 large carrot

2 stalks celery

handful of snow peas

2.5 oz water chestnut

½ tin baby corn

12 large deveined shrimps

1tsp garlic

2tablespoon oyster sauce

olive oil

1 cup rice

Slice celery, carrots and bell peppers .Wash and season shrimp with salt. Remove water chestnuts and baby corn from tin and allow draining. While rice is being cooked stir fry vegetables separately, in a wok, to bring out their natural flavors. Stir fry cooked shrimp with garlic; this should take no longer than 5 min. After shrimp has been cooked add all the vegetables together continue stirring on medium heat. Add oyster sauce and stir in wok for about 2 min more.

Remember appearance is everything! Bon Appétit!!

Saving Your Indoor Plants

A friend of gaealove wrote to me the other day. His concern was for his potted plants that bring outdoor green and life to his office every day. One, his Bonsai tree was losing its leaves and the other was; the leaves of his bamboo plant were turning yellow. I am so sorry about your plants but first of all I should let you know; there are no indoor plants! All plants thrive best outdoors. No matter how we try to acclimatize them our beautiful insides they need fresh air, sunlight and rain water.


I am not sure what type of tree you have that has been trained in the Bonsai art, but the Chinese Elm naturally loses its leaves every winter. It seems a shock to you, so I suppose your faithful plant has kept her beautiful foliage throughout the years you’ve had it, trying to adjust to your environment giving you maximum pleasure while not living its natural course. Forcing the tree to keep its leaves all this time will weaken it to critical levels. Some trees lose leaves while others don’t but maybe you could put the plant in a cooler part of the office during winter seasons and see what happens.

Your bamboo plant, I assume to be the “lucky bamboo”! Yellow leaves are caused by too much fertilizer or too much light. Water evaporates from the tip of the leaves and if there is too much fertilizer in the water it will block the veins in the tip of the leaves and prevent the water from nourishing them causing the leaves to turn yellow or brown. Ensure that the lucky bamboo is not exposed to direct sunlight.

I do hope I was able to help with this information, all the best with your beloved plants!!

Five easy ways to improve your health

Plunge in the Stock Market

The Stock market today, May 6th 2010, went in a sell- off as the Dow Jones went down more than 1000 points. Other traded markets reacted likewise. Some may wonder why it fell so much. But the real question is, was the market in an uptrend or still in a down trend. Therefore, were we too eager in expecting a full bullish move? Were there any real strong indicators that market movements have changed momentum? As we all know when the US economy was heading into recession the markets fell; Britain, Europe and Asia falling into the same fate added even more fall. It was all one big drop! The U.S. had introduced “stimulus packages” to help the economy bounce back; one of which was for first time home buyers. All other countries have done similarly whether it maybe large sums of money thrown into the World Bank or otherwise. We, however, cannot expect a full turn over when the situation at hand was a worldwide crisis and affected many first world countries. These countries would have to show steady growth, may it be jobs, homes or otherwise. In the U.S. there are a number of homes still in foreclosure and recently a number of commercial properties. Is this a sign of a full bounce back?


A fundamental trader would argue that the market reacted this way on an account of the debt crisis in Greece. A technical trader would say, the market is moving in a downtrend and is therefore testing previous lows made in late 2008 early 2009.

The Benefits of Apple Cider Vinger

Organic Apple Cider Vinger is a cheap and healthy way of detoxifying organs in the body.It therefore, promotes the health of the vital organs as it has a means of breaking down fatty, mucous and phlegm deposits within the body.
By preventing an excessively alkaline urine it promotes  healthy kidneys, bladder and liver.

Running nose. Excessive mucous formation, watery eyes, sinus and catarrhal troubles. Teeth decay and the splitting of finger nails are all signs of potassium deficiency this  can be averted with a little apple cider

When the blood is deficient in some minerals or biochemic salt, ill-health is the outcome e.g. boils break out, suppurating blisters become apparent, pimples appear on the face etc. It has been found however, that cider vinegar helps with the cleansing as well as the clotting of the blood. Oxidation of the blood is very important and cider vinegar is again an effective treatment for this. Besides introducing the important minerals into the blood stream, as mentioned above, cider vinegar also helps in the clotting of blood. This is of tremendous help to those people who are commonly termed 'bleeders', as they live their lives in fear of cutting themselves due to the bloods inability to clot, and it will also enhance the healing process.

Aloe Vera

As a child growing up I use to see my Aunts and older cousins fuss about the Aloe Vera. At least once per week they’d all get together and apply the sliced plant to their faces. Like a puppet in the midst I’d follow suit. Bitter tasting thing it is, but my aunts would take a few slices, poured water over it and drank it throughout the day. As a teen, however, I had no acne problems. Whether I owe this to the Aloe Vera or good family genes, I don’t know but I am sure it contributed.


Aloe Vera is a natural healer, good for scrapes, burns an excellent colon cleanser. For those like me who can’t stand the natural taste there are tablets you can purchase at the health food store. From juices to shampoos the Aloe Vera’s use is extensive.

Infidelity

Pharaohs, Shoguns, Emperors and Kings, all men with powerful titles and a whole list of accolades to follow. They have conquered nations, been husbands fathers and of course they have all had mistresses. It’s nothing new in history and not uncommon in today’s society. Infidelity! Throughout time it was always accepted even expected that men should have women outside their marriage. It was not accepted then, or now, for a woman to have more than one man. In today’s society however, public figures are judged more harshly than our neighbor who has committed the same act. Is it not the same pain inflicted whether it maybe Tiger Woods or Tom Brown?

Bromelain

According to researches carried out; noni and pineapple fruit are very good sources of Bromelain. Bromelain is a protein-digesting enzyme. It helps with symptoms of varicose veins and its anti- inflammatory properties also helps in healing the body’s cell. I find it easier to drink my noni when mixed with other fruits, purchased in the health food store. Pineapple, a tropical favorite is enjoyed in so many different ways. When the time allows, I usually do a detail cleaning of  the skin washing it under running water .Slicing it into eight pieces so I can send it through the juice extractor easily. That way I get all the nutrients from the skin and fruit. Since the pineapple is a sweet fruit I never need to add honey or any other sweeteners. Just enjoyed chilled with a few cubes of ice.

Activated Charcoal

Not many of us are aware of the benefits of charcoal in the diet. Did you know it helps with indigestion, flatulence and by my experience food poisoning? My son loves crabs; however he has a terrible allergic reaction when he eats it. So in order for him to enjoy his seafood special I often travel with my activated charcoal so he can have it right after he has his crabs. I try to take it everywhere I go, especially to new places to eat where I am not familiar with the cooking. If they are feeling uncomfortable with gas pains or diarrhea I usually give them a dose. I am no doctor by profession but in my home I am Dr. Mom.


Charcoal can be easily purchased at the pharmacy or any health store outlet.