Sunday, March 2, 2008

Your Dry Cleaner’s Double Standard

Women are charged more for dry cleaning services. Don't fume, find a better way. While it is true that the practice is unfair it is also true that we have options for keeping our clothes clean and holding onto more of our cash. Try some of these tactics to stem or stop the unfair flow of your dry cleaning dollars.

• Examine labels before you make a clothing purchase. Go for easy care (read machine washable) items whenever possible.

• Determine if dry cleaning is a suggestion or a mandate before you shell out big bucks. If dry cleaning is not necessary for the care of your fabric, consider gentle hand or machine washing.

• Investigate home dry cleaning products such as Dryel. These products work with a special bag and fabric-softener like cleaning sheet, and your dryer to freshen your clothing. You can find home dry cleaning products in the laundry aisle of your grocer or local discount store. Dryel and similar products typically run around $10.00 and clean 6-9 pieces, a significant savings over dry cleaning costs.

• Negotiate with your dry cleaner for better prices. Politely mention your concerns around gender price differentials and ask that your cleaner offer comparable prices for comparable fabrics.

• Invest in a steamer. They are now widely available and priced affordably.

• Take advantage of savings and discount programs. Some dry cleaners offer discounts with pre-payment or a particular number of items.

• Pay cash. Unless you pay your credit card balance in full each month you incur additional costs in interest on top of your already exorbitant dry cleaning costs.

• Wear clothing items twice, instead of once before making a trip to the cleaner.

Dry cleaning costs can run as high as several hundreds of dollars each year. These costs are inflated by gender bias. Fight back and keep more of your cash with a few of the suggestions listed above.

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All respectable sites giving you information on baby shower ideas, will almost certainly provide an 'about' webpage that will list the owner's details. The particulars should reveal major points about the owner's necessary expertise. This enables you to make an assessment about the vendor's education and practical knowledge, to offer advice about baby shower ideas.



About the author:

Darren Hoye is the webmaster for http://www.baby-shower-game-ideas.info

You Can’t Water a Garden With an Empty Bucket - Self-Care for Women

Women who are around me hear me say this all the time – ‘You can’t water a garden with an empty bucket’. What does this mean to you? I use it as an illustration to get the point across that women are taking care of work and everyone else and fitting themselves into the little, tiny cracks of time that are leftover – if there are any. So how lush and gorgeous is the garden that gets watered with an empty bucket? Not! How well can you take care of the important people and tasks in your life when your energy bucket is bone dry? Not well, at least not for long. When you are considering your own energy bucket it’s important to know what fills it up and what depletes it. Read on to learn the 5 questions to ask yourself so you know how to fill up your bucket.

1. What brings you joy? How much of what you do during your day brings you joy? How often do you purposely add joy to your life? For some, work is joy, but for most it’s far from it. Make a list of what it is that brings you joy – a child’s smile, dancing, coffee with friends, sex. Keep it handy, so if you get really overwhelmed you can have a quick reminder. Joy puts energy in our bucket.

2. What’s your natural energy level? For a woman who is more active in her energy, having a lot of quiet down time may actually deplete her bucket. If you think of it like a spectrum, with naturally low energy as a 1 and naturally high energy as a 10, where do you see yourself? Answer this question as you truly are not how you want to be.

3. What is your current pace? Now that you know your natural energy level, evaluate the pace of your current energy output. Use the same 1 to 10 scale. Are you a natural energy 4 going at the pace of a 9? Or are you a natural energy 9, going at the pace of a 4? Work on getting your pace oriented towards your natural level of energy. We talk a lot about women being way to busy in our world (which is true), but you can also get too bored. Neither extremes put energy in your bucket.

4. Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Does being around people energize you or deplete you? If it energizes you then you essentially are an extrovert. Extroverts fill their bucket by being around people. Introverts generally recharge by being alone or with one other person. So, if you’re an introverted women who works with a lot of people all day, getting some serious alone time will help to fill your bucket.

5. How are you maintaining your machine? Not your car, your computer, or even your IPod – but, your body! Your body is a big part of your bucket and it needs proper care and feeding in order to do its best job. It’s amazing to me how many women I work with who don’t eat breakfast. And, who don’t drink water during the day because they don’t want to take the time to go to the bathroom. What about sleep? Getting enough? Probably not. These are the basics. You can get 100 pedicures to take care of yourself, but if you’re constantly dehydrated and your brain isn’t getting proper nutrition, then life is still going to seem hard. Make a true assessment of how you’re doing in the care and feeding of your body.

Everyone’s bucket is different, which is why I’m giving you questions to ask yourself rather than the top 5 ways to fill your bucket. However, if you’d like some more specifics or new ideas on how to get energy flowing into your bucket, then check in at my blog, The Balanced Living Journal http://www.balancedlivingjournal.blogspot.com, where I’ll be regularly posting some very specific bucket filling ideas. What’s a blog, you ask? Go back to the newsletter and read the ‘Soapbox’ section to find out.


About the author:
Copyright 2005 Catherine A. Bruns. This article may be reprinted in full with the following attached: Life Coach Catherine Bruns coaches women to success in their personal and professional goals. For more information visit http://www.coachbalance.com

Yoga For Pregnant Women

Master your mind!
Gain control over your body!
Be relieved of your stress through the practice of gentle art of Yoga!

Pregnancy is a physical as well as mental experience. Women often becomes hyper aware of all the changes their bodies are going through. Yoga allows pregnant women to adapt to these changes more gracefully and to feel proud and a sense of appreciation for their bodies. Yoga exercises can increase flexibility, strength, circulation and balance. Many pregnant women find that regular yoga exercises help to reduce swelling, back and leg pain, and insomnia.

However, Yoga must be practised very carefully among pregnant women, as improper exercises will bring negative effect on both moms and babies. Here are some tips for pre-natal pregnancy Yoga practise:

1. The general yoga exercises are recommended for the first 2 months. You must consult your doctor and find very experienced Yoga teachers. With proper guidance, you can practice some yoga right into labor. If you new to yoga then you should start slowly.

2. Breathing exercises are beneficial if done twice a day. The breathing exercises provide more oxygen and energy both to the mother and the child.

3. Some yoga poses that can help a pregnant women dealing with the symptoms of pregnancy, ensuring smoother and easier delivery, and faster recovery after childbirth. Pregnant women should pay attention not to overstretch the body - the ligaments around the joints become loose and soft during pregnancy. The abdomen should stay relaxed at all times. Difficult and poses that put pressure on the abdomen and other should NOT be done during advance stages of Pregnancy. No any kind of pain or nausea should be felt during and/or after yoga. If this happens, you should stop yoga practise and contact your GP.

4. When carrying out standing poses with your heels to the wall or use a chair for support to avoid losing your balance and risking injury to both you and your baby.

5. Deep relaxation is crucial to give rest to body and mind, and you will benefit more from a good sleep. Deep relaxation helps the nerve system change from sympathetic to parasympathetic activity. Parasympathetic activity is associated with the restorative processes of the body, which is needed both by the pregnant woman and the child.

We also strongly recommend regular morning and evening walks. Yoga is very individual. For more great Yoga advice, and other pregnant women support services, e.g. domestic cleaning services, babysitter services, personal trainer, chef and many more great services just visit us at http://www.londonrate.com

About the author:
LondonRate.com is endeavouring to build an online emporium of staff service providers with online comparisons, bookings and ratings. Everything is designed to provide you with the best service, tailored exactly to your needs. visit http://www.londonrate.com

Why Ladies Craze For Women’s Sandals?

Talking about sandals in front of women is absolutely a tempting topic for them. When women check some magazine and store where they saw some new design of sandals, surely they will talk about it and if possible would willing to purchase it.

Even when a woman looks at somebody’s beautiful sandals, there is no doubt that she would eager to buy them too. It seems that women cannot be separated with sandals, shoes, and other beauty accessories.

Of course not only women who can collect sandals. Men and kids are also able to do so, though they cannot choose a wider option compared to women. Yes, it is because manufacturers produce women’s items in a very extensive designs, colors, and materials.

What about you? Are you also fans of sandal, shoes and other footwear? If you are part of them, maybe you ought to know more on different type of sandals. Women’s sandals can be divided into so many types based on designs and models. You can name them: beach sandals, bridal, dress, flip flop, platform, sport, thong, and wedding. There are so many of them which you can find the information about it at MySandalsGuide.com!

Moreover, here are the designs you can find in one of the sandals types above. If you love dress sandals, you can get diverse styles such as: ankle strap, backless, flats, glass, heel, slingback, strappy, and woven. What a complete collection!

Well, well, well, you can imagine how many styles you’ll get if each type has its own styles. Of course every type or style has its own plus and minus points. It’s you who make review toward the sandals, whether they are comfortable or stylish enough to fulfill your desire.

Some of you are the big fans of designer brands. No matter how expensive the items are, you don’t really mind with it as long as you feel comfy and confident while wearing them. Well, looking for branded items at shoe stores could be tiring and time-consuming, right? The only way, namely, the most practical way, to hunt for so many brands is by using the Internet. Yes, find the perfect pair from all over the world just at your fingertips!

About the author:
Diana Claire lifelong for footwear led her became footwear reviewer. She has tried different kind of footwear, and she put her review at MyShoesGuide.com Her experiences on footwear can be helpful for those who need more information about a certain kind of footwear. Visit her Website http://www.mysandalsguide.com

Who Should Relocate In A Long Distance Relationship?

My Dear Lover,

Soon or later, you and your beloved will have to take the decision of who should move, because it is very hard to live apart.

Moving will change your life drastically, you should what you and beloved really wants from life, you need to communicate, communicate and communicate until you arrive to a very clear understanding about your expectations, It is your future.

Here are some questions to help you make the decision.

Will you have to "give up" of your domestic animals? Does your beloved love having cats, dogs, birds, etc. at home?


Any of you already have children? How well will they accept living together, now as a new family? There are good schools for them in the new place? They like the new place? How about their friends, they accept being apart from them? Can they keep their current activities, like sport, etc. in the new place?


Are you moving far away from your family? If you are a kind of person that is very close to your family, it will be very hard not. to be with them so often. Maybe your parents are "old" and need your assistance. You have the right to build your life, your happiness, your love, but I think it isn't fair to leave your parents alone most of the time, when they most need your help. And if you already have children, can they live far away from their actual family? They are willing to have a new family?


If you are divorced and your ex lives near to you, will he accept your new mate? After all he comes from "nowhere", and almost from one day to another, he is already living with you.Of course you can't let your ex be the main reason for you to live your life, where you want, and with who you want, but if your ex is a kind of person that don't accept that you have a new mate, you need to be prepared to deal with that.


Can you live in the new area, possibly, for the rest of your life? Do you like the weather? The culture? If you are an urban lover and will move to a rural area, can you live with that, or will you miss the urban live too much?If you are a kind of person that can adapt very easy to new environments, this is no problem at all, but if you are not, and decide to move, you will need all the help, understanding and support from your beloved, for the more "difficult" phases, be aware that he knows that. Do you really know the new area, or you have been there before, only for a couple of weeks in romantic holidays? Try to know better the new area, if you can spend more time there and not. only when both of you are in holidays, before you move forever.


God forgive me, but if things don't go well between you, and you decide to you should end your relation, after you move, will you come back to your old home, or will you live in the new area? Can you live there, without the support of your family and old friends? It will be a very difficult time for you.
Well, with all these questions, it might seem to you, that this is a very difficult decision to make.It is a big decision that will change your life forever, you need to be very clear about your expectations.

But my most important advice to you is to listen to your heart. True love is so precious and can overcome any difficult.

Don't measure the distance, measure the Love, Maria Madeira. http://www.distancelovinghelp.com



About the author:
Being in a long distance relationship since 2003, Maria Madeira share her advices, her experiences, her help, teaching how to survive a long distance love.

Who do you think you are?

Are you totally in love with your life?

Whatever your current situation I want to give you some food for thought…

Your current level of love, passion and intensity for your everyday life is directly proportionate to how close you currently live to the purpose for which you came to this life.

Take an office worker. Is he going to work because of his love for paperwork or because he has an intense passion to crunch numbers? Or a receptionist, is she going to work because of her deep love for answering ringing telephones and the thrill of asking the question, ‘May I help you?’ Of course not; like millions of others they are both going to work to earn money to pay for the necessities in life.

But just for a moment let’s question the necessities. Sure a five bedroom home, the luxury car and the two week holidays abroad are all great, especially when you measure your success, as nearly all of us do, by what we ‘have’ and what we’re ‘doing’. The only problem is, ‘having’ and ‘doing’ have very little to do with a key factor in what we’re ‘being’ while we’re ‘having’ and ‘doing’.

‘Being’ is all about ‘who you are’. Sure you can have all the material things in the world, but if you have to sell your soul for forty years doing something which you have no passion for in order to ‘have’ and ‘do’ – or in other words ‘look good’ to others – then, have you been who you really are and do you really need to question why you might not be feeling aroused, playful and passionate. Sounds a bit like good sex…

And living life can be like good sex… great sex… And I bet great sex for forty years interests you more than working passionless, grinding hours!

In order to live life with passion you need to find purpose. And when I say ‘purpose’ I mean, ‘Life purpose’. And when I say ‘Life Purpose’ I mean, understanding the unique gift – that special talent that got buried long ago due to all that necessity you created in order to look good – and expressing it in a distinctive way.

The problem you might have is uncovering that talent and then finding a viable way to make a living. But that is really all just stuff and nonsense. When you’re involved in your passion and remain open to the possibilities out there waiting for you, you can be swept along on a wave of possibility.

So, to return to our original question, “Who are you?” Are you someone who is willing to be swept along on a wave of possibility, adventure and life or will you hang onto what doesn’t excite you?

Life is for living.

Best wishes

Jo Ball
Unstoppable Life