He’s popped the question and you’re dying to tell someone. Without a second thought the two of you race like the wind to share the good news with your mum and dad.

Wait! Haven’t you read enough etiquette books to know that there’s a right way and a wrong way to spread your fantastic news? And the way you’re going to do it will bring you nothing but regrets.

Without any warning you’re going to break into the living room and expect your parents to act as if they’ve just won the Lotto? Dream on!

It’s a cold Sunday evening, and your mum and dad are settled for the night. Snuggled into a flannelette dressing gown inherited from her grandmother, her feet lost in your father’s outsize slippers and heavy woolen socks that a lamb would be proud of, your mother’s head is a pin cushion of pink and blue plastic curlers.

Beside her, your father is spread across the chair fast asleep. Head back, mouth wide open, his snores are successfully competing with the sound of the television which has been turned up to point 25.

Awakened by a kick on the shin, he exudes all the charm and dignity most people exhibit in that situation.

With your ‘Mum, dad, we’re engaged,’ ringing in their ears, at that moment, believe it or not, they hate you and your partner with a passion. Why couldn’t you have given them some warning?

They’ve seen enough TV to know exactly how they’re expected to react when their favourite daughter comes home with a ring on her finger. But they’ve been caught napping in every sense of the word.

If this scene were being enacted on the screen there would be a bottle of champagne cooling in the refrigerator. Elegant gold-edged flutes would be sparkling in the cocktail cabinet, while mum and dad would be stunning in the fashionable gear provided for them by the wardrobe lady. There would be much laughter and exclamation, with all sorts of delightful sentiments pouring out of dad’s well-written script, with mum smiling a warm welcome to your fiancé.

But as it is, even if they manage to recover from the disadvantageous position in which you’ve placed them, the best your parents can do is offer the two of you a cup of tea and a biscuit or two, and wish you both hundred thousand kilometers away.

Spare them the embarrassment and yourself the disappointment. On Sunday night come home alone. Give your parents a broad hint about what to expect tomorrow, and stock the fridge with all the necessary accessories in the meantime.

News like your engagement, deserves the spontaneity of thorough planning.

Vlady Peters is an Australian Civil Marriage Celebrant.

She is the author of ‘Complete Book of Australian Weddings’ and ‘The Small Organisation Handbook’.

Vlady is a member of Queensland Civil Marriage Celebrants Assiociation, Australian Authors’Asssociation and Romance Writers of Australia Association.

Visit Vlady at her website http://www.vlady-celebrant.com

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How to Maintain Your Love Affair with Your Dog - Training
Tips for a Happy and Healthy Relationship with Your Canine Companion
© 2004-2005 by Peggie Arvidson-Dailey

When I first laid eyes on my little ball of black fluff at an adoption fair, I knew there was no turning back. My husband and I had been looking for just the right dog for months, and all the research and networking had finally paid off. There was no doubt in my mind that we had found the most perfect, precious four-legged family member in the world.

As luck would have it, the adoption fair was right around the corner from our home, this gave us a great opportunity for a home visit at the end of the event. I ran home, scrubbed and cleaned and did everything I could to make sure our home was ‘puppy worthy’. As soon as she arrived with her foster mom, the puppy made sure to let us know she was in the right place…but more about that later.

Because both of us had lived with dogs before, I was sure we knew everything we needed to start off on the right foot and have a loving and healthy relationship with our dog. I was only partially right. Through lots of hands-on experience and a great deal of patience and training, I’ve learned a number of ways to maintain that original love-at-first sight feeling.

Training and Behavior

About the Author

Peggie Arvidson-Dailey, The Pet Care Business Expert, is author of “Surprisingly Simple Sales Steps: What Every Pet-Care Business Owner Needs to Know to Build Their Business in a BIG Way!” To learn more about her book and sign up for tips, hints and ‘sneak peeks’ at ways to run your pet-care business smarter visit http://www.peggiespets.com

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There are certainly many approaches to washing a baseball hat, but which is the best? Well I can’t tell you I’ve tried all the ways to do it, but I can tell you which way has worked best for me in my many years of playing baseball and caring for dirty hats.

The First thing anyone shoulddo is simply look at the tag on the inside of your hat to see what material makes up the stinky hat in front of you. This is a pretty good start for the cleaning your hat because the tag will give you the best tips. It will say what the hat is made of and give you standard instructions for washing. Now, if you don’t have the tag left in the hat or it is unreadable, don’t panic. Most new hats are either one of the following:

Cotton twill:

This is a strong and durable material and has that “cotton” look and feel to it… because we all know with baseball hats - the older it is the better it looks and feels to wear.

Cotton polyester:

These fabric blends are tough, bright and most often times color fast.

Jersey mesh:

This particular material is a durable, colorfast knit and a cinch to wash.

Wool:
This material is most certainly warm, but can shrink in water and/or in heat situations.

Now for the washing….

Always use a washing machine and NEVER a dishwasher. Dishwashers are made to wash dishes NOT fabric and can cause damage do to the high heat at which they wash.

Make sure to put something else in the washer with the hat, preferably the same (or close) color. This will soften up the washing cycle and make the environment more delicate for your hat. Make sure to pre-treat the liner or headband with an enzyme based laundry pre-spray before washing. Use the cold water setting, warm is also ok, but NEVER hot water. AND NO BLEACH!

Once the hat is washed it must air dry. Putting your hat in the dryer will destroy all the time you spent molding the hat to your head. I recommend for the drying part that you look for a plastic hat mold. They are out there and very cheap. They ensure that the hat keeps its form through the drying process. Not critical, but if you can get one it will make a bit of a difference in the end result. That’s it … it’s very simple… happy washing!

Find out more interesting information about hats at http://www.wearhats.info

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America is now conditioned to the automated telephone answering
experience. Most of us can recite the words from memory. This
drone or common experience has a comfort zone that many
companies are fearful to abort. As the buying demographic
changes, so must the approach.

Telephone answering script and voice professionals at
www.scotttradio.com welcome this new frontier in the business
and call center phone experience. “Please listen closely as the
menu has changed” is now a common phrase when we are sent into
the automated telephone answering world. Wouldn’t it be nice to
be both informed and entertained? Who said it must be bland to
be professional? Someone did and too many companies believe this
reality.

We can learn a lot from the most successful airline of the past
decade. Southwest Airlines. Imagine, of all the places to take a
risk in shifting from extremely professional and serious, to
casual and relaxed then the airline industry. Lives are at risk.
But they did and the consumers love it. With the humor can a new
type of trust. With the casual uniforms came less fear, not
more. At scottradio.com this approach to telephone answering is
what we do. And we do it well.

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Vacations are for fun, it means leaving behind your job and responsibilities for a while. Having travel insurance is one way of putting your mind at complete rest. It’s a lot easier to enjoy your trip if you know that you are covered from luggage lost to sickness.

The further your trip will be, the more you will need travel insurance. This is common sense, as international trips are costly, so there’s a need to protect your hard earned travel money. So wherever you go, to a local or international destination, it’s very important that you have the necessary insurance coverage.

Cheap annual travel insurance is an alternative choice for those budget- conscious travelers who are making more than one trip a year. The main feature of the annual travel insurance against regular travel insurance is that it saves you money. For a once annual payment, you become covered whenever you travel during the year. The terms and conditions vary between companies, but annual insurance for unlimited travel is also available. Cheap annual travel insurance provides substantial cost savings than any regular type of travel insurance.

Here are some tips for choosing your best cheap annual travel insurance for your trip to Rome:

1. Sign up with a reputable insurance company that has worldwide offices which can easily be contacted during emergency needs.

2. The insurance company should have a 24/7 customer assistance which is an essential for international travelers.

3. Always make your office’s 1-800 number available to you when you are abroad.

4. The cost of the insurance should not be more than 10% of your investment.

5. Read the terms and conditions of the policy to make sure you aren’t buying unnecessary or inadequate coverage.

6. Look for refundable policy, especially if you have the history of changing your mind too often.

7. A good insurance should cover at least the following:

a. Flight cancellation or delay
b. Luggage loss and delay
c. Sickness and accident during the trip
d. Evacuation support during an emergency situation such as natural calamities

Cheap annual travel insurance is good for you if you take vacations more than once a year. Instead of taking several insurance each time you travel, you can make use of a single travel insurance that could save you a lot of money and time. On the other hand, if you travel less often, an annual insurance policy is not for you since you will not be able to recover the cost.

That’s all about Rome travel insurance for now. In my next article, I’ll explain more of my travel tips for your time in Rome.

Best wishes for a great vacation,

Les Sheppard’s website gives full information about planning your trip to Rome, including flight deals, Rome accommodation tips, Apartment and Villa rentals,tour planning and tips on all the top Rome attractions:
Lets-Travel-Rome.com

You can also grab our free hotel guide and newsletter from the homepage, and keep up to date at our Travel Rome Blog:
Lets-Travel-Rome.Blogspot

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Attracting people to a website is the problem that faces
designers and webmasters throughout the world. Without visitors
a website is fundamentally useless. This is especially true when
a site is created to make money for the owner, such as in an
affiliate scheme. The most common way for people to discover a
website is through popular search engines, so making sure your
site is at the top will help guide visitors to your domain. SEO
or search engine optimisation articles will help make sure that
the site is near the top. These SEO pieces are simply a number
of articles written with keywords in mind embedded within the
site.

SEO is just one way of making your site known another way is
through simple word of mouth. If the owner of an affiliate site
is willing to put in the man-hours and spread their own message,
they can hope to attract large volumes of people. There are many
ways of contacting people both online and offline, the options
are seemingly limitless. E-mails can provide a way of contacting
hundreds of people. As with any communication or advertising
system the more people that can be contacted the more you are
likely to attract a customer. The knock on effect of contacting
large volumes of people can mean that they in turn contact more
and so on making a chain of people all talking about your site.
Posting on forums can also bring attention to a site. It is a
form of free advertising, all the site owner has to do is to be
friendly and focus on susceptible or interested groups.

Friends, families and colleagues are also a good market to look
at. If you are looking to create a poker website with
affiliates, you can make good money by finding out people who
are interested in poker in close circles and inviting them to
try it. These close circles may then expand into wider circles
and your affiliate system and personal website will reap the
rewards. It sounds simple but the more people an affiliate can
attract to a site the more money they can earn. The key is just
in finding the people who are willing and able to join these
sites.

Affiliate Programs are a potentially lucrative form of Internet
entrepreneurial choices. It is a risk free form of income, with
the levels dependent simply on the amount of visitors a site can
entice and the amount of work that a webmaster is willing to do
in order to gain said visitors. The Internet offers people the
chance to advertise and make money free of charge and with a
limited outlay. Becoming an affiliate site and converting hits
into cash is just one way of making money.

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“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” (Lord Acton)

We all like to think of ourselves as kind, honest, and benevolent. In our hearts, we are convinced that should we ever attain personal power, whether through building our own business, rising to the corporate executive office, becoming extraordinarily influential in our area of expertise, or in winning public office, we will continue to be honest and ethical, incorruptible to the end.

The action of wielding power varies greatly with the individual involved and the extent of power obtained. We are all familiar with the petty tyrant at work who rules a tiny business empire with greed and self-indulgence, bullying underlings without any sense of fairness or mercy. We have seen the research scientists who have forged a reputation over a lifetime fall into disgrace through subverting results to support their theories and their sponsors.

As the extent of power increases, we see the Enron and Lincoln Savings brand of tableaux unfold. Not only does that same greed and self-indulgence hold sway, but the concept of being above the law arises and accountability and trust are jettisoned from the boardroom. The more esoteric the lifestyle becomes, the greater the disconnect between the powerful and the rest of the world. Those who lack power are to be cheated, manipulated, and drained of their possessions – surely only just desserts for their failure to rise to the top.

In a world where hereditary monarchies are an anachronism, the most absolute power lies in the political sphere whether wielded by a military-backed dictator or by those who have been so repeatedly elected to office that they no longer see themselves as public representatives but as entitled oligarchs of a system they control.

The presumptuous ambition of one man, Julius Caesar, led to the destruction of a republic that had guided Rome to the heights of civilization. The empire he created held the seeds of its own destruction in its descent into the unrestrained autocracies of a string of less than illustrious rulers who wielded their absolute power with caprice and personal whim.

The framers of the Constitution had a vision of a government where no such unconstrained power could arise because of the checks and balances inherent in the system they devised. No one could be above the law because the rule of law was paramount. The advise and consent required from different branches of government ensured that a multitude of voices and philosophical ideas were involved in any major decision.

But those who drove the development of our constitutional law were giants in their own right. Washington’s refusal to accept the title of king, advocated by several of his supporters, signaled his rejection of too much power concentrated in one individual. His peers – Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Madison, and many more – followed the same course: divide power to ensure that the needs of the many can be met through a myriad of representative voices.

Over the centuries, the checks and balances they built have kept the ship of state afloat. Occasionally listing to port or starboard, the sheer multiplicity of participants in the political process have been repetitively able to pull it back to an upright middle course. Certainly, there have been many dark periods of corruption and incompetence. We face such a darkness now: individuals in office for too long, with too much power within their grasping fingers; too many officials who have forgotten that they are public servants, developing a mindset of entitlement and the conviction that they know, better than anyone else, what is good for the public who, after all, elected them.

Only the rule of law, so carefully crafted more than 200 years ago, can keep them in check. The lawful prosecution of a congressman accepting millions of dollars in bribes, of a congressional leader who used election money as he saw fit rather than as the law required, and administration officials who destroyed a woman’s career and jeopardized the lives of covert operatives all over the world, restores balance in a world rife with corruption, greed, and overweening pride.

Ongoing investigations into the honesty of leaders in evoking the need for military intervention and the rising voice of dissent against financial favors for the rich and powerful at the cost of cutting services to the powerless poor, offer a glimmer of hope that the corruption will be curbed and the hubris of our leaders punctured and exposed.

The embattled defendants cry foul, claiming that the only transgression is the political ambition of their critics. They have moved so far beyond the pale of the common citizen that their own corruption and misdeeds seem entirely ordinary and acceptable to them.

Happily, unlike the impotent rubber-stamp Roman senators, we can face our would-be Caesars without threat of bodily harm and we can cast them out of their cozy nest with the most powerful weapon ever devised: the ballot box.

Virginia Bola is a licensed clinical psychologist with deep interests in Social Psychology and politics. She has performed therapeutic services for more than 20 years and has studied the effects of cultural forces and employment on the individual. The author of two interactive workbooks: The Wolf at the Door: An Unemployment Survival Manual and Diet With An Attitude: A Weight Loss Workbook, she can be reached at her Social Psych Blog drvirginiabola.blogspot.com

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Fly Fishing

Ancient Macedonian pottery paintings indicate that fly fishing, that is, fishing with a lure constructed of feathers to imitate an insect, was the first form of angling with a rod. Fly fishing differs from most other disciplines of fishing today because the fly must be cast on a fly rod, a very whippy, limber pole which is bent or “loaded” by a fly line. Whereas a bait fisherman uses the weight of his lure or bait to pull line out behind it when thrown, a fly fisher uses the weight of the line itself to bend and unbend his rod.

Hand fishing

It is possible to fish with minimal equipment by using only the hands. In the USA catching catfish in this way is known as noodling. In the British Isles, the practice of catching trout by hand is known as trout tickling.

Spear and bow fishing

Spear fishing is an ancient method of fishing and may be conducted with an ordinary spear or a specialised variant such as an eel spear or the trident. A small trident type spear with a long handle is used in the American South and Midwest for “gigging” bullfrogs with a bright light at night, or for gigging carp and other trash fish in the shallows.

Fishing nets

All fishing nets are meshes usually formed by knotting a relatively thin thread. Modern nets are usually made of artificial polyamides like nylon, although nets of organic polyamides such as wool or silk thread were common until recently and are still used in certain areas.

Fishing lines

Fish are caught with a fishing line by encouraging a fish to bite upon a fish hook or a gorge. A fishing hook will pierce the mouthparts of a fish and may be barbed to make escape less likely. A gorge is buried in the bait such that it would be swallowed end first. The tightening of the line would fix it cross-wise in the quarry’s stomach or gullet and so the capture would be assured.

Ice fishing

Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish with lines and hooks through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. It is practised by hunter-gatherers such as the Inuit and by sportsmen in many cold climates.

What ever technique is you favorit, one thing is for certain; fishing is a fantastic recreational hobby or sport. A growing number of people around the world is joining the fellowship of fishermen. More and more people are finding out about the relaxing effect fishing has. One could wonder why it is so. Maybee because the world surrounding us all is going faster and faster, and we need a breathing hole ones and a while to catch our breath. Fishing provides that hole! A lot of us has known it for years, some has just discovered it, and others will join in the future.

Happy fishing – see you out there.

Huge amount of information on Course Fishing - check out for your self.

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The year-ending holiday season is the best time to pay a visit to the Walt Disney World Resort. There are more season-specific events during this time than any other. This is great news for you if you happen to be traveling to Orlando in the upcoming month, but the number of events can be a bit overwhelming and daunting to keep up with so we have outlined the latest happenings at the Walt Disney World Resort for your convenience.

First up in November is the Festival of the Masters at the Downtown Disney Marketplace. Here you will find one of the most eclectic and critically acclaimed open air art festivals in the United States. Young children may not be too excited to pay a visit here but don’t worry, just a few steps away is the World of Disney store. The largest Disney store in the country will keep the young ones entertained while teenagers and adults enjoy the art festival. The festival runs from November 11-13, 2005.

During the weekend of November 12, the biggest soap opera stars gather at the Disney-MGM Studios for ABC Super Soap Weekend. Fans of various ABC daytime dramas will be able to meet and greet dozens of popular stars in person, including Susan Lucci.

Also showing at the Disney-MGM Studios, beginning on Monday November 14, is The Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights. This brilliant display of Christmas lights and decorations is not to be missed. Come out and marvel at the sight of over 5 million lights adorning the New York Street district of the Disney-MGM Studios. Insider fact: This event requires the use of 32 miles of extension cables and 66 snow machines!

For more holiday fun, head back to the Downtown Disney Marketplace for the Festival of the Seasons. The festive atmosphere during this event is very infectious and beams of holiday cheer. Stroll through and visit the various shops and enjoy the Disney-themed nighttime entertainment. This month-long festival runs from November 19 to December 24.

The EPCOT Center also joins in the holiday cheer with Holidays Around The World. Circle the vast World Showcase lagoon and celebrate the holiday season as you indulge in music, characters, and food from around the world. This is certainly something the entire family can enjoy. Holidays Around The World can be experienced from November 25 to December 30.

At last, towards the end of November, you will find Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. This is Disney World’s cornerstone holiday celebration, so if you are visiting the resort during November 27 to December 20, you will surely not want to miss this event. The celebration is complete with a special parade, a new fireworks spectacular, and cheerful stage shows.

At Walt Disney World, the holiday season is truly “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”.

Article source: http://www.orlandovacation.com
Orlando Vacation

Jose M. Negron has been a resident of Orlando, FL for the past 17 years and is a copywriter and web programmer for Affordable Travel, LLC and http://www.orlandovacation.com. Feel free to visit to read more articles by this author or contact him directly: jose@orlandovacation.com.

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Do you still feel tired even after eight hours of sleep? Does fatigue continue to haunt you after a brief rest? Do you feel like an engine deprived of oil that can make it run smoothly and effortlessly?

This feeling occurs too often. It is something that can happen to anybody, including you.

Experts explain this as something that has to do with behavior patterns that we unconsciously develop. There are times in life that we develop a behavior pattern, which we are not aware of until we fall into its bottomless pit. This negative behavior pattern has the tendency to pull down our spirits. It works very similar to the law of gravity - exerting a force that pulls down everything.

The good news is, you can do something about it and elevate your sagging spirits. The change need not be abrupt. The wrong behavior patterns that you have learned can be unlearned by adopting new and correct patterns of behavior.

This is where the challenge lies. Deeply ingrained behaviors are difficult to change, for people always seek the easy route or the comfort of the status quo. It may not be easy, but it can be done. Consider this perspective: Always remember that if you do not do the right behavior, you fuel the habit of doing the wrong behavior.

For example, you hardly have any exercise. The mere thought of going to the gym or taking a walk makes you wince. You snuggle under bedcovers, thinking you can do it tomorrow. You spend the day watching television munching unhealthy food. At the end of the day, you feel awful for having no self-discipline. You promise to exercise the following day. When the next day comes, the cycle stays the same.

Think of it this way: when you miss a workout, it’s not like you just stay at the same level you’re at. You actually take a few steps back. Every time you miss a workout, you have done something to strengthen the habit of not working out. The more workouts you miss, the stronger the negative behavior grows.

How do you change behavior patterns painlessly? You can start small by allotting fifteen to twenty minutes of your television time for exercise time. Try this for about two weeks. When your body is used to this new schedule, you may gradually increase your exercise time to half an hour. This automatically reduces your television time by a total of thirty minutes.

Say you spend most of the time sitting by the window thinking of fears, anxiety, apprehension, and all sorts of mumbo jumbo thoughts entering your mind. Replace this unproductive habit with a productive behavior. You might want to pick up a book and read it, or take your pet dog for a walk (this gives you the exercise you need at the same time). You can also spend idle time in socializing occasionally, doing occasional volunteer work, or just have plain fun with family or friends.

So you see, there are ways of changing behavior patterns. The technique is to do it gradually. Start small with just a few minutes a day for a week or two, increase the time for the weeks, and so on. You will see an amazing transformation in terms of mental, emotional, and spiritual fulfillment after a couple of weeks. The brooding feeling will be lifted and you will feel energized with the new pattern of behavior.

Again, it should be emphasized that for the new behavior patterns to take root, any improvement must be done gradually, giving it time to sink into your life for you to enjoy its long-term benefits.

Attempting to hasten behavioral change by doing it in large doses or in one gulp might not produce promising effects for improvement. Instead, it might lead to pain and frustration that might not give the same motivation to continue with the change process.

A gradual improvement with long-term effects is definitely worth your time and wait.

Learn how to acquire any trait (happiness, patience, courage, focus) you desire to possess, attain good health and prosperity, and be in total command of your life at the authors website at: Command And Master Emotions

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