Picnics are delightful when well managed. The perfect picnic always puts everyone in a great mood. The idea behind picnics is that much of the food is prepared at home, then transported to an outdoor setting. Here, you have a great variety of choices. Whether it is a beach, a grassy knoll overlooking a trickling brook, or a designated picnic area, your goal is to be certain your feast has a smooth transition. Pack food in lightweight containers that are airtight to ensure they arrive at your destination safely.

Before you pack your cooler, take a stroll through your garden. There are a number of things growing there that will make your picnic a huge success. One of the first things you should pack is a few sprigs of mint. Put these in the center of your blanket or tablecloth to keep the bees away. Take a few extra sprigs to enhance the flavor of the lemonade. A tray of oregano, basil and chives allows guests to take a piece of whatever they choose to add to other greens.

For a beautiful centerpiece, scoop the center out of a head of cabbage to make a bowl. Set it in the center of a colorful tray and place carrot sticks, celery, green peppers, broccoli and cauliflower around it. Fill the “cabbage bowl” with spinach dip. This adds color and a touch of class to your picnic.

Plant pansies or petunias in mugs for each of your guests. These can be set beside each plate. When your guests leave, they can take them home, transplant the flowers and keep the mug as a memento of the great day you spent together.

If your picnic is going to take place in the evening, add a citronella candle to your box of supplies. This adds a nostalgic atmosphere and keeps pesky bugs away.

You can choose to prepare all of your food beforehand, taking only things that are ready to serve, or you can take a few prepared foods and cook the rest on the barbecue or grill.

Be sure to add cups, plates, serving utensils, a serrated knife, cutting board, napkins, flatware, salt and pepper and trash bags to you picnic basket. You will also need a cotton tablecloth, quilt, blanket or large beach towels.

Add items to your basket for special picnics. For example, a romantic picnic is more of a hit with crystal wine glasses and fine china. On the other hand, a family picnic will be more successful if you add a pair of binoculars, a kite and a Frisbee to your basket. This type of picnic calls for sunscreen and insect repellent.

Ants clouds and bees are not the only threat to an enjoyable day. Always keep foods in the refrigerator until you are ready to pack your basket. Add a bag of ice or ice packs to
keep food cool. Cold foods should be kept at a cool 40 degrees. Never pack your cooler too full. Be sure there is room for air circulation. Hot foods should be kept at 140 degrees or above. This avoids turning your picnic into a salmonella delight.

Keep uncooked meats in airtight containers so juices cannot contaminate other food when transporting them to the picnic. Wash hands, surfaces and utensils before and after handling uncooked meats.

Raw and perishable foods contain bacteria or parasites. When these foods are served undercooked or are prepared, handled or refrigerated improperly, dangerous toxins develop. This can cause guests to become ill from food poisoning, which causes flu-like symptoms.

If salads cannot be kept cold, use vinegar-based salad dressing, not mayonnaise based. Mayonnaise can cause food poisoning if not kept at 40 degrees or cooler.

Wash all produce with cold water before cooking and eating. Cold water kills bacteria and removes toxins such as pesticide sprays.

Always marinate meats in the refrigerator. Boil marinade for a full ten minutes before pouring over cooked foods.

If you follow the tips in this article, you will have an enjoyable day in the great outdoors. Your food will be fresh and you will keep microscopic guests away.

Remember, there is no need to cook elaborate foods for a picnic. The simplest recipes are mouth watering good when eaten under nature’s canopy. Enjoy!

For Picnic Baskets that make unique Gifts visit us at epicnicbasket.com

You may republish this article on your website, or e-zine so long as none of the content, or author information has been edited or changed in any way, and all links are left active and unchanged.

Affiliate marketing is probably the hugest subject on the internet today. Pretty much every search you make we steer you in the direction of one or more affiliate programs. Some are great and stood the test of time while others fall of the map before there even warm. So let’s look at a few mistakes made by affiliate marketers today.

It’s of vital importance to understand the sort of program you are getting into. So many of the programs brag about the hug commissions they pay but in all honesty that may be irrelevant I you don’t have a clue what you’re selling. Everyone has an expertise of some sort and that’s the sort of program you should get into. You might not make all the money overnight but in the long run if you’re selling something you know and enjoy then the money will eventually come in.

Lots of sites have the option for people to sign up for emails. If this is the case you have to make sure the emails are fun and not spammish. If the emails are too spammish then people will opt out and not accept emails from you any longer. You might have to go that extra mile to make this work but it’s the people that are going the extra miles that are succeeding in this business.

This is hugely important. You want, if possible to write some of your own content. Its not unusual for people surfing for affiliate programs to come to the same site 4 or 5 times and the only thing different is the name in the top corner. You will get a lot more traffic that stays if you can put some originality into your site.

People are always going to make mistakes in the affiliate marketing game. It doesn’t matter if you’re new or old to this business. As long as you learn from your mistakes. As long as you are willing to put in an effort I can guarantee you will always make some nice cash doing this. There are many people across the world becoming wealthy from affiliate marketing so why not let this be you.

Dale is very quickly becoming big in the affiliate marketing world. You can check out the site that brought him here at http://stcajo.netsalaries.com or you can check out two of his very popular blogs at http://relationshiptidbits.blogspot.com/ or http://affiliatemarketingfornewbies.blogspot.com/

My father loved singing this song to my mother.
He was an incurable romantic, he always
ended with the words: Your place will be
in my heart. He was well on to his seventies.

Now that I am enjoying my retirement years, I
finally understand the words, the deeper meaning
to the words: when I grow too old to dream.

There is no lack of information when it comes to
defying age and aging. The adage Life Begins at
Forty, now reads Life Begins at 60 and keeps on
moving beyond.

The threat of wrinkles is no longer intimidating.
Thanks to technology and the science of cosmetic
surgery. This is no longer the sole domain of the
female group- men have joined in!

The bar to health consciousness is raised ever
higher. Exercise, proper nutrition choices,
a holistic approach to life all lead to a healthy
lifestyle and hopefully, a desirable quality of
life as one gets older.

But- aging will catch up with us, one way or
another, despite the advances in medicine and
medical technology.

Then what? With getting old comes the aches and
pains that tend to slow or hinder mobility. The senses
tend to get dull – hearing is not as sharp, the eyes
don’t see as clearly, the sense of touch can be impaired,
the taste buds and sense of smell slows down as well.

There are some that are lucky enough to walk down
the road of getting older without much inconvenience
brought on by physical/ medical issues. Although,
memories of years gone by, or faded photographs
are known to help the elderly suffering from
some memory loss.

But- for as long as memory serves one well,
there will be many walks down memory lane. Time
is no longer in short supply. Most likely, memories
remembered are pleasant, cheerful, reminders of
happy times.

Precious memories are priceless. It is an added
comfort to feel the closeness of a loved one
while recalling re-runs of years gone by. And there
will be special memories to warm heart and soul.

Bonnie Moss writes to inspire and to motivate
her readers to explore the depths of their heart and
soul and make a difference in this world. She draws
from personal experience and her interest in the New Age.

Visit her website http://goldencupcafe.tripod.com

Shyness is a social affliction. It is a fear of mixing with others. Shy people and unhappy people have one thing in common: they mainly focus upon themselves. But self-focus comes from insecurity and kills interaction. The greatest feelings of self-worth come from our positive effect on others. It has been shown that low self-esteem goes hand-in-hand with individuals who put too much attention inward. Confidence comes by doing something daily that focuses on someone, or something, else in a positive way. My hero Denzel Washington once said in a film, “A person wrapped up in himself makes a very small package!” Indeed.

I often wonder why anyone would boast about being shy, because shyness is a focus upon fear and the self which increases the inability to engage another person in basic interaction. When you are in a situation where you are meeting new people and interacting with others you immediately become less nervous. Life only works reciprocally. If we merely expect from others we tend to get very little until we begin to give too. Many people who have not learned how to share find this giving difficult and simply wait with open hands to receive. Yet it is very clear that the people who give the most tend to receive in abundance. When we focus upon ourself, there is a limited field of vision which obscures the whole picture and gives us just one narrow view of the world – ours. We always expect something from others emotionally, yet are unprepared to give much back.

A shy person worries constantly about the REACTION of others and what they might think; whether they are WORTHY enough in that situation and how they will be TREATED because of their low self-esteem. Being so focused upon themself and their perceived treatment, they have little to give to others, which keeps the shy one in the same situation – being sidelined, alone and feeling excluded.

There are 6 main ways to overcome shyness, listed in order of importance:

1. Be proud of yourself and appreciate who you are, regardless of your ‘faults’. You cannot be acceptable to others if you reject yourself. How can they affirm what you yourself dislike and reject? If you learn to accept your faults as well as your strengths, to cut yourself some slack, others will too. If you have to change yourself in any way for the potential date, that’s the worst start to a relationship. You will always be trying to please and feel inadequate for it.

2. Shift the focus from yourself and push it outwards. When you shift your focus, you learn to relax more. Everything does not appear to be such a big deal. Relaxing comes through many forms: making a phone call to someone for an easy chat – they might be so grateful for your contact; going for a walk; listening to your favourite music; doing some puzzles; talking online to someone; sending a simple email to that valued person; reading a book and, above all, accepting everything that is happening at that moment instead of getting stressed about it or trying to control it.

3. Ask as many questions as possible. It doesn’t matter how difficult this is, learn to ask questions, especially with a potential date. Any question is indicative of curiosity and is a doorway to dialogue and interaction. It does not matter how simple and trivial the first question is, that is vital to open that door and it shows your interest, making you seem less one-dimensional and more engaging.

4. Do not always wait for others to act, chances are they are shy too! Pluck up the courage to make the first move sometimes. If you don’t try to engage the people you are interested in they will never know your feelings and others will beat you to it. Belief and desire need courage and conviction around them to get the required results.

5. Join in activities, like a local activity club, dating club, or becoming a volunteer. These are the surest ways of boosting your self-esteem and getting that date as you remove the focus from yourself and give the attention to others to reinforce them. You will feel wonderful seeing the results of your actions and the difference you’re making to others. Most important, people will suddenly want to know you because they feel valued!

6. Begin to appreciate your world and what you have today and see the difference as your life changes in front of you. Don’t take life for granted and the blessings you have. Stop and smell the roses so that you too can smell much sweeter!

ELAINE SIHERA (Ms Cyprah -http://www.ecademy.com/user/elainesihera and http://www.myspace.com/elaineone) is an expert author, public speaker, media contributor and lifestyle columnist. The first Black graduate of the OU and a post-graduate of Cambridge University. Elaine is a CONFIDENCE guru and a Personal Empowerment, Relationships and Diversity Consultant. Author of: 10 Easy Steps to Growing Older Disgracefully; 10 Easy Steps to Finding Your Ideal Soulmate!; Money, Sex & Compromise and Managing the Diversity Maze, among others (available on http://www.amazon.co.uk as well as her personal website). Also the founder of the British Diversity Awards and the Windrush Men and Women of the Year Achievement Awards. She describes herself as, “Fit, Fabulous, Over-fifty and Ready to Fly!”

As we unravel the fabric of our personal story, we are left with a mixed bag. This is the time for a spiritual guy like me to come clean – to make amends for unruly behavior. The urgency to make things right stems from an aging process that leaves me feeling vulnerable when I look at the landscape of my life. I need closure from the times in my life when I “missed the mark.”

My children have heard my “sordid” stories because I used them as teachable moments for behaviors to avoid. I typically tried to provide “real-life” stories about my misdeeds and those of others as a way of promoting character-building qualities. This concept failed quite miserably, because my kids followed in my footsteps anyway.

When I was a young teenager, my parents departed for a business trip. I was left behind in the care of my older brother. Like most teenagers, I yearned for the day that I would turn sixteen so that I could move through the rite-of-passage of getting behind the wheel of an automobile. For me, that day didn’t come fast enough and those keys hanging near the front door presented a serious temptation. Without considering consequences (a typical problem for kids), I took off on a joy ride with my friend Chrissie. I was feeling very adult-like until we cruised through a neighboring town as a police officer was traveling toward me in the opposite direction. Chrissie spotted the cop and freaked out. I responded by over-turning onto a side street and nearly ending up in the front yard of a nearby house.

The officer spotted my brilliant move and pulled me over. After asking me the question I didn’t want to hear, “Son, can I see your license?” we were escorted to the local police station. My brother came to the station where we were released into his custody. “Wait until Mom and Dad get home,” Rick kept repeating. I wanted to hide under a rock and stay there indefinitely. I wrote a long “how could I have done this” letter prior to my parents return. I even included various punishment options within the letter’s body. When my parents returned home they received the news from my brother. Although they were not as angry as I expected, they indicated that I was to appear in court to respond to my behavior. I remember that fateful day when my father and I made our way to the county courthouse where I was vigorously lectured by the judge and then released to my father because I said that I would never to stupid tricks again.

Chrissie was a chatter-box, so the news of our adventure permeated the halls of our high school. We instantly became risk-taking, law-breaking heroes. It is interesting how teenagers can reframe things and make behaviors appear so awesome, even back in the days of my youth. I still have my high school yearbook which is full of quips about the “adventure,” “the ride,” and the good-natured teasing about my anti-social behavior.

That same school year, I took Latin because my parents thought it would help me with all those long medical terms. For some inexplicable reason, my Latin class was inhabited by all the “jocks” from every imaginable sport (no girls allowed). Things were complicated by the fact that the teacher was a first year rookie who was also the head cross-country coach. Mr. P. was known by many in the class for his coaching skills. No classroom introductions were necessary. The class period was split due to a lunch period which was squeezed into the middle of Latin.

The split-class option with lunch posed various sneaky “boys will be boys” possibilities. We brought red Jell-O back from lunch and conveniently placed it on page thirty two of Tony P.’s Latin book. I think this translation page was about Caesar’s Gallic wars. I remember Mr. P. retorting in his nasal tone, “Boys, your not being very funny at all.” On another occasion, we tortured our poor teacher by taking the onions out of our hamburgers and putting them in the radiator of the classroom before he arrived. Then we waited… As the aroma permeated the air, Mr. P. responded with, “Boys, I don’t think that was a very wise thing to do.” In spite of our antics, we actually formed a very positive relationship with Mr. P.

In the mid 1990’s, more than thirty years after the fact, I learned how potent a legacy I had left behind. At that time, I worked as Director of Guidance and Counseling for a midwestern high school. I was charged with the responsibility of helping formulate a new comprehensive guidance plan for our school. In order to accomplish the task, a colleague and I visited various exemplary school models throughout the state – one of them which happened to be my old alma mater. As I visited my school as an alumni, memories of my past began to envelope me. When we entered the counseling department office, we were greeted by retired counselors who were volunteering as part of their retirement package. When I mentioned my name and that I had attended the school decades ago, the gentleman laughed. The counselor replied, “We have heard of you and your antics along with some of your classmate’s behavior.” “Throughout the years, your story has repeatedly been mentioned by alumni and the Latin teacher.” I said, “This is quite amazing. “Is Tony still teaching here?” “He certainly is and you will find him in the teacher’s lounge.” the volunteer remarked.

As I entered the teacher’s lounge with my co-worker, I immediately sat down to have lunch. After we ate, I looked around the room to find Tony. I asked a teacher where he was sitting and as I moved toward his table I noticed the older version of my teacher. I introduced myself, but it was unnecessary. Tony grasped my arms and immediately began laughing. It was his last year of teaching and we sat at that table and he reminisced with his colleagues about a story that has touched so many lives.

Forgive me God – there will be potholes in my legacy! All of my memories constitute the nature of who I am. They remind me of my humanity and the ways in which I touched the lives of others for better or worse. I have one story. I don’t have the choice to take parts back. I just hope that in the end that I am appreciated for the sum total of all its parts.

James P. Krehbiel, Ed.S., LPC is an author, freelance writer and cognitive-behavioral therapist practicing in Scottsdale, Arizona. His personal growth book, Stepping Out of the Bubble is available at http://www.booklocker.com James can be reached at http://www.krehbielcounseling.com

Some of our best lessons come out of painful experiences.

Most of my significant life lessons have been painful and have often had something to do with people that I trusted, respected and (stupidly) expected more of.

Darn those expectations!!!

Over the years I have had people whom I loved, cared for and invested lots of emotional energy in, do things which were dishonest, deceitful, hurtful and even criminal. It usually had something to do with money and/or business. Invariably they would ‘find a reason’ to resent me, dislike me, be critical of me, steal from me and to justify whatever it was that they were doing.
Apparently it (criticising me) made them feel (or look) better.

I apologise if this sounds self-indulgent or melodramatic but it’s my experience, it’s the truth and there’s a point to it all… coming soon!

I have watched people destroy their life or parts of it, and then get angry, bitter and resentful towards me because I didn’t do enough to help them.
Or because somehow, their lack of success was my fault.

An interesting concept.
Couldn’t have anything to do with them.

I have had people in my life who would give me a hug, tell me how great I am and then walk into the next room and run me down to another person.
Vipers.
I have had people who masqueraded as friends, yet would lie to my face, day in and day out.
I have had others who would ‘turn it on’ for a period of time in order to get close to me because it was advantageous to their career or financial situation to gain my trust, approval and friendship… and then once they had what they came for (the position, the knowledge, the skills, the pay) the ‘love’ would stop.

I do not hate any of these people (I don’t hate anyone), resent them, wish them harm or even dislike them… in fact, I hope they prosper.

But it won’t be with me in their life… and it won’t be with my help.

(I’m a good guy… but I’m not an idiot).

I will also say at this point that I have had (and continue to have) a number of amazing people in my life who have always been the real deal; honest, caring, loyal and loving (even when I’m being an idiot).
Unconditional friends.
Love that.

When I first went into business I was absolutely naive.
About business and (some) people.
On some level, I (stupidly) assumed that most people would be happy for me to succeed.
Personal training centres were non-existent (in this country) in the late eighties, so it was a brand new, exciting concept.
The first three years in business was one ‘lesson’ after another for me.
I didn’t expect anyone’s help or anything… but I didn’t expect what I (often) got.

Just like I get excited when I see someone (even someone I don’t know) try and do something special with their life (or part of that life), I thought others would do the same.
And while there are some fantastic, amazing, honest and loyal-no-matter-what people in my life… it has been my (personal) experience, that they are in the minority.

While I respect and want to learn from people who create something from nothing and people who take chances, what I often got along the way was resentment and negativity.

Not rare, I know.
Possibly a familiar story for you.

I have just read what I’ve written so far and I realise that I may be sounding a little negative; that’s not my intention. It is my intention to paint an honest and realistic picture of what (I believe) most of us have to contend with as we move along our own journey towards ‘amazing’ and deal with some of the realities and practicalities of people, relationships, trust, expectations and life.

Most of my life, most of the time… inhabits somewhere between good and amazing.
By and large, my life and my experiences, are fantastic.
But occasionally, my reality hovers between bad and horrible.
I’m not alone in this.

It’s how we deal with the bad and the horrible which differentiates us.
Which makes or breaks us.

Sometimes I sit down at my computer to write a post like this… and because I’m the motivator, the coach, the teacher and the personal development guy, part of me feels compelled (obligated perhaps) to churn out some ‘feel-good’, trite, predictable, self-help… fluff.

But the trouble with the feel good fluff is that:

1) I’m not good at it.

2) It’s usually manufactured, repetitious, generic self-help crap which really benefits nobody in the long term.

3) It’s often not realistic or practical for where most of us ‘live’.
4) It doesn’t address most of the real issues which we contend with along the way.

So excuse my bluntness and lack of feel-good-ness(!) today, I’d rather give you what I believe to be some practical, helpful, honest insight.

Much of the ‘resistance’ that we will have to contend with over our journey will come from other people. The truth is that for most of us life is periodically a painful place to be.

And the reality is that, while some people learn, grow, change, adapt and soar when they go through a painful experience… others going through the same thing will crash and burn.

They give up.
They get angry.
They blame.
They get bitter.
They resent.
They get jealous.
They lose.

Don’t avoid pain… deal with it.
Don’t avoid people, deal with them.

One of the dilemmas for Craig the optimist and Craig the coach has always been…. while I want to trust everyone and see the good (Craig the feeler), the logical, rational, practical part of me (Craig the thinker) has too many vivid memories of people who have done skanky, stanky, yucky, nasty things… and too much common sense to know better (than to expect good from everyone).

So it seems I have a few choices:

1) I can get angry at people and trust no-one.
2) I can stay awake at night and agonise over other people’s behaviour and the ‘injustice’ of it all.
3) I can become a victim and feel sorry for myself (a popular choice for many).
4) I can learn how the world and people work and deal with it.
5) I can get over myself, not be precious, be a realist and get stuff done.
6) I can trust people who earn my trust and continue to do my best to be a positive in others lives.
7) I can appreciate, acknowledge and be thankful for the great people in my life.

I think I’ll go options four, five, six and seven.

So many people I have worked with and mentored over the years talk about this wacky concept of ‘fairness’.

“Life’s not fair.”
“My boss is not fair.”
“This situation is not fair.”
“It’s… just not fair.”

You only need to take a look a the nightly news to see how ‘fair’ the world is(n’t)… but the reality is… the news doesn’t usually impact on us personally, so it doesn’t bother us too much.

Listen up…

The world’s not about fair.
Life’s not about fair.
People are not about fair.

Some things just are.

Get your head around that and move on.
You’ll thank me one day.

Change, influence and improve what you can… but don’t waste emotional energy on stuff that’s out of your control.
That doesn’t mean be selfish and without a global or social conscience… it just means be realistic, practical and do what you can right now.

Our existence, our survival, our ‘life-experience’ has got nothing to do with fairness.
And everything to do with adaptation, attitude and endeavour.

Here’s what my amazing, crazy and at times, painful journey has taught me:

1) Often I’m the problem and often I’m wrong.

2) Often I’m not.

3) Being an optimist is good.

4) Being an optimist and a realist is better.

5) Life is messy, lumpy, bumpy and painful… we need to cope with that.

6) Pain can be a great teacher if we let it be.

7) It’s unhealthy to try and live in some unrealistic, Hollywood, head-in-the-sand version of reality.

It’s okay to ‘not have fun’ and ‘not be in the zone’ all the time - even if you do pride yourself on your great attitude and amazing optimism.

9) It’s normal to experience negative emotions (resentment, anger, bitterness) but it’s unhealthy and destructive to hold on to them.

10) As a rule, pain is temporary.

Craig Harper (B.Ex.Sci.) is an Australian motivational speaker, qualified exercise scientist, author, columnist, radio presenter, and owner of one of the largest personal training centres in the world.

He can be heard weekly on Australian Radio SEN 1116 and GOLD FM and appears on Australian television on Network Ten’s 9AM.

Motivational Speaker - Craig Harper

You need to optimize your site so that search engines will give it a top ranking when
a search is made with specific keywords that touch your industry. It is possible to do
the search engine optimization on your own, or get it done by a professional.

The first step you need to take is to do a keyword research. That will give you
a clear picture about people’s tastes and desires when they search about your
product or service.

You can get keywords research tool from Google and Yahoo through either Google
AdWords keyword suggestion tool, or Yahoo Search Marketing keyword selector tool.
But I prefer to use worldtracker.

Next, you need to adjust the title, Meta keyword as well as the Meta description tags
which are bits of code that the search engine uses to rank websites.

Thirdly, You should also include your main keywords and keyphrase in your text body.
You must create keyword rich page content, which should contain those keywords that
you have searched earlier (keywords research).

You should have a homepage with about 200+ words of written material that includes
your keyword phrases. Keyword density should count for 3-5% of your text.

Fourthly, Create a site map so that your page link back and forth in your site
structure. Use the full domain name when linking back to the homepage in order
to make your site’s link more popular.

The last step is to start your link building campaign which will result in your
site linking up to many other websites which will increase your search engine
rankings.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to Search Engine Marketing Success. Discover The *Secret Formula* We’ve Used To Stay In Google’s Top 3 Rankings For Over 3 Years For Some Of The Toughest Keywords Around (18 MILLION Competitors!)

Download it free here: Search Engine Marketing Success

Serge Daudelin

Affordable Search Engine Optimization Services.com

Serge Daudelin is a Internet Marketing Consultant & SEO Specialist who has written over 300 articles in print and 5 published ebooks. Serge is dedicated to helping others and offering the best information on how to make more money online.

If you are trying to sell your home you will want to try to see it from your prospective buyer’s point of view. Whether you have lived in your home for a year or two or for over twenty years you see it from a different angle than anyone else would. There are small things that you can do so that people coming to look at your house will see it with the best possible “curb appeal”. A small amount of time and money can make a big difference in how the buyer perceives your home. If the front looks well cared for they will automatically feel that you take care of the property.

Stand on the sidewalk or curb in front of your house and try to imagine it as though it were someone else’s home. Look at the front door, the landscaping, the windows, the driveway, the front porch and the mailbox. You want the buyer to make an emotional connection to your house. What jumps out at you as being in need of some attention? Look for these things:

• Is the front door painted and clean? Has the doorknob been replaced in the past few years? You can polish and clean this area and it will look fresh and new. Remove any shoes or other items that may be in the way as the buyer moves toward the front door.
• What about the driveway. Is it stained with oil? Are there toys, bicycles or trash cans blocking the way?
• Is the lawn neatly manicured? Some fresh flowers can be very inviting and do not cost very much. Choose colors that will compliment the colors of the house. Avoid too much red or orange.
• If you have windows in the front of your house open the curtains and turn a light on, even if it is the middle of the day. Take a damp rag and wipe out the windows, inside and out.
• Get a new door mat. Sweep or hose off the area so that it looks nice and clean

All of these things will add to your home’s curb appeal. No one can say exactly what curb appeal is but we know it has to do with the feeling someone gets when they first pull up in front of a home. People buy for emotional reasons and then rationalize the decision later. If the front of your home looks well cared for, clean, and inviting then it is more likely that the buyer will enter the house with a good feeling.

Connie Ragen Green is a Real Estate Broker and State Certified Residential Appraiser in California and has bought and sold over 100 properties since 1983. Visit her at http://www.BuyRealEstateforProfit.com for more information about buying and selling real estate.

Why Are Values Important?

Values drive individual behavior. Your values are like a compass. This compass does not point north, south, east or west. It points to what is right. Every decision you make is guided by this compass. It is imperative that you clearly understand, and can articulate, your values – this articulation is similar to a properly calibrated compass. When you understand your values, you will have the confidence to challenge the status quo based on what you believe. You will be able to make decisions confidently and consistently, and you will be able to explain the reasoning behind your decisions.

People who do not have clearly articulated values, or who have no values at all, are like ships without sails being tossed about on stormy seas, drifting wherever life takes them. These people are not consistent in their decision-making, as they have nothing on which to base their decisions. They just go wherever the wind blows. This can have a disastrous effect on them personally, and on the people around them.

I was involved as a project manager on a large offshore oil and gas drilling and production facility. This facility was being constructed in Ulsan, Korea in Hyundai Heavy Industry’s construction facility. This vessel is about three football fields long and about ten stories high. An un-powered vessel, it does not have a rudder.

Korea is susceptible to seasonal typhoons. These are very similar to the hurricanes that are common in North America. During construction of the offshore vessel, Ulsan was hit by a powerful typhoon. The typhoon blew the vessel, its moorings and part of the quayside out to sea. Then the typhoon then blew it back toward shore, where it collided with, and crushed, a berthed freighter. Fortunately for our project, the vessel was only slightly damaged, although the freighter was a write-off.

Unfortunately, this is what happens to individuals who do not have clearly defined values. Without values to securely anchor them and without engines and a rudder to keep them powered and on track, when a storm hits they end up causing a lot of damage to themselves and to sadly to those around them.

Spend some time reflecting on your most important values and record these. Share them with your family and friends. Have them work through the same process and then discuss the values differences. Can you see where and why values based conflicts could arise? Now that your values differences have been identified what can be done to avoid potential conflicts.

To read more about values see What Are Values and Why Are They Important? - Part 3 and take the online values assessment at http://www.strengthzone.ca

A graduate from the University of Alberta in 1989 with a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, David M. Taylor is a professional engineer with seventeen years of electrical engineering and project management experience. Over the past ten years, he has held project management and leadership roles, working with management and staff to improve overall performance in the development and implementation of business and project execution standards in North America, Europe and Asia.

David is the author of Strength Zone: Discover Your Place of Maximum Effectiveness and the CEO of Strength Zone Inc.

One morning back in 1986, as was usual for me, I drove down to the Girlie Restaurant on I44 next to the Sleepy Bear Motor Hotel in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The west side of Tulsa was not the best of places to find a good breakfast on Sunday morning. But, I had been eating at the restaurant for a few months and it was not bad.

I retrieved a copy of the Tulsa World newspaper from the machine out front after depositing fifty cents and strolled to the back, sliding into a booth that allowed me a full view of anyone coming or going in the restaurant.

I had been sitting there about fifteen minutes when a couple of women came in. One was somewhat older than the other, possibly a mother and daughter. They selected a booth on the opposite side of the aisle from me, a little towards the front, with the younger woman facing me, and the older woman turned away.

The older woman looked to be in her fifties with some gray showing and wearing thick glasses. She was a little on the heavy side for her height, but not terribly so. She appeared to be talking to her daughter all the while.

I’ve been told that my ability to notice or pay attention skills did not function well at times. But, I want to tell you, I did notice that the younger woman looked strange. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but it was there. She was taller than her mother, slim, had short blonde hair and blue eyes and was not a bad looking woman.

Before she sat down, I saw that she wore a medium length dress, bare legs and a pair of loafers. She had nice looking breasts and. . . wait a minute! All of a sudden it clicked. She was a double amputee! Both arms were missing just below her shoulders! How in the world was she going to eat, I thought to myself?

The waitress had my order; two eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy. Where was she anyway? Sure seems slow today for some reason. I continued to roam the sports page, occasionally glancing up from the paper.

It was then that I noticed something peculiar going on across the way. No, it wasn’t that the woman with her back to me had lit a cigarette and was puffing away? What grabbed my attention was that she handed the cigarette to her daughter and she took it with her foot!

I did a double take, leaning to one side to see around the waitress as she placed my order on the table. I had to see this. The woman had her foot on the table and took the lit cigarette between her toes. She tilted her head slightly, taking a drag off the weed then let the smoke ease from between her slightly spaced lips then the corner of her mouth.

Gosh that looks easy, I thought. Well, the food hasn’t arrived yet. Let’s see how she handles that.

I glanced through the paper, took a sip of coffee, a bite of eggs and sausage then returned my attention to the two women sitting across the way.

Good! I murmured to my self. Here comes their food. Let’s see how she does this. A cigarette is one thing, but a fork, a spoon, a cup of coffee. . and pancakes?

Well! I could not believe my eyes. She ate her pancakes, bacon and drank coffee as if nothing was the matter at all. If I had not seen it, I would not have believed it.

I finished my breakfast and continued to read the paper. While, across the way, the two ladies sit a while longer, smoking and sipping coffee. They may have been talking about me.

“Who is that strange gawking, nobody at the back of the restaurant,” the girl may have asked her mother.

Anyway, I never forgot that pair of ladies and their most unusual actions in the Girlie Restaurant on I-44, that Sunday morning in 1986.

Benjamin J Cox is an author, novelist, poet, speaker, writer and humorist. He has written a book, Insider Dreams, a 911 Novel. He was born on a dirt street in a Waldron, Arkansas, in 1943. He graduated from the University of Tulsa with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He is married with three children, five grandchildren. He is the President of Mayes County Writers Club, the Treasurer of Pryor Creek Investment Club and a member of Will Rogers Toastmasters Club. He is retired and lives with his wife in Pryor, Oklahoma. He like to run, enjoys big band dancing, Speaking before groups, and writes every day.