Horse Hubs

1. Gift friends a home made dinner – buy 6 red envelopes and write on a sheet of paper ‘An invitation to a specially prepared home made dinner in honor of my special friends to celebrate the festive season together!’ Put a time and date on it for about 2 weeks after Christmas and send off with your Christmas cards.

2. Christmas family fun activity – ask everyone in the family to write on a small piece of paper something they would like to do together that preferably does not cost money. Fold each piece of paper up and place it into a hat. Suggestions might be: play cricket at the beach, go on a bush walk, play monopoly, drive to a country town for a picnic. Now take it in turns from the oldest to the youngest and write down in that order each suggestion and then each week after Christmas choose one day per week to do each activity together.

3. Bake home made cookies – get together as a family and have everyone take it in turns to partake in the making eg. each family member takes it in turns to stir the mixture one full circle then passes onto the next person. Once made place on a favorite plate and cover with cellophane and add a ribbon and keep for visitors who call in at Christmas.

4. Gift an afternoon tea – type up a flyer for all the neighbors in your street to come for a Christmas afternoon tea.

5. Santa Sack – Buy some red and green felt material and cut up in to oblong pieces of the same size. Place one red and one green together and hand sew the outer edges or glue them leaving a space so you can fold down the top. Use a marker pen and writer each family members name on a sack. Cut a small hole and thread a piece of red or green ribbon through the top and hang each one on each family member’s door.

6. Home made gift box – after you take down your Christmas cards, buy a medium sized box from the $2 shop for each family member. Cut the front of the used cards up into small squares and place in a bag or hat. Mix them all together then take out one piece at a time and glue it onto the box until all sides are covered. It will look very colorful and personal top place gifts in for next Christmas. The next tip is something you can put into it.

7. Write your own blessings – cut an A4 sheet of paper into strips about half an inch wide. On each strip write a verse for happiness, forgiveness, prosperity, love, joy and abundance. Then take a twig and roll each strip around a small twig. Use sticky tape to secure the first end of the strip to the twig. Do this for each virtue and place them all into a box that each person will take one from at Christmas Eve!

Visit http://www.HoHoHoChristmas.com for tips and tools for reviving the fun, magic and real meaning of Christmas every day of the year. You can also subscribe to our f*r*e*e 10 day e-course with audio on how to enrich your Christmas experience today from The HoHoHo Expert, Bernadette Dimitrov, author of The HoHoHo Factor!

What are the holidays all about?

Many people lose the real meaning behind the holidays, not just religious beliefs but the holidays are more than Santa, The Easter Bunny, and Mr. T. Turkey. During the holidays, especially Christmas we tend to over spend and stretch out our wallets. Why do we give? Some give to get love in return, others give to let us know we are thought of, and to be thought of. Then there are some who give just to keep up with the Jones’s next door.

Some of us send out Christmas cards every year just too only get 3 back out of 10 sent. Have you heard of a thing called Xmas etiquette! When someone sends you a Christmas card, family included, please send one back. It is rude not to send one back. Do you agree? It is nice to know that we (Recipient is being thought of). If your budget is tight, a Holiday card is a lovely way to say “Hi” or “I’m thinking of you!” Did you know for a mere 37 cents (80cent going abroad) you can give a holiday card and stay within your budget. If giving gifts are out of your budget send a holiday card snail or e-mail.

Many of us live far from family, out of state, some abroad. It is not being “frugal” or some call it being “cheap” but it is about “being smart”. Lets face it some folks can really not afford to give back, not even a card (e-mail is free)! Others are being forgetful and that in return leaves us with a feeling of forgetfulness and it is simply rude. There is no reason why you can’t just send an e-mail card, it is just as meaningful. The point is we want to know we are cared for, thought about. The holidays are the perfect time to show this and share your love. The holidays are for love, sharing, caring, and spending time together. The holidays should not be about having to deflate your bank account.

Handmade gifts and cards are not conscientiously being cheap, it’s a way of letting an individual know they are significant and one of your most priceless commodities, “Your Time”. What about homemade pastries, cakes, cookies on a keepsake platter to give to one family as a whole, there is nothing better than a gift from the heart. “Being smart” or other words “Saving Money” is the most essential, intelligent detail you can do. Yes, I know you do not want folks to think you are cheap or in lack of money, goodness knows we have to keep up with the Jones’s (That was just a joke). When we try to compete or give to receive love we just end up disappointing ourselves and your back account savings which was for your vacation, college, new house, summer house, new car would have just been depleted to keep up with the Jones’s, or to impress.

Agree on yourself for once (this is not being selfish) even if you just send your family a card, that is a lot, it is very meaningful and well if they don’t reciprocate scratch them off your next years list (just joking again). Continue to send them cards; giving is good for our soul. Call it the “Chicken Soup for the Christmas Card Soul”. For your partner and a loved one give a gift to each other that you both need, for example last year we both were wanting a big screen TV and instead of giving unnecessary gifts we got something we both needed and wanted.

Start traditions that do not cost a bundle. Have friends and family over for some smooth jazz and (or any genre you like) for dinner, cocktails which is a wonderful gift all tide up in a beautiful box. The best gift of all to give is the gift of being together during the holidays.
Anyway, don’t forget to send a card back; it is important, good etiquette and kind. Do not overspend, use cash, and remember being together, sharing laughter and love is the true meaning behind any holiday.

VERONICA MARIE KETTLER is Editor-in-Chief for She Unlimited Magazine. http://www.sheunlimited.com and heads up the community at http://www.sheunlimited.com/forums

Marie also contributes to various magazines and newspapers.

MARIE VRONIQUE is committed to making a difference. Making a difference in the Women sectors online, media and print.

1. Fake it until you make it

If your flesh is looking pale and pasty, get a fake tan to look great for the party season. Somehow golden brown looks slimmer than pale and uninteresting.

2. Have a make-over

Treat yourself to a make-up lesson so your party face looks glamorous and up-to-date, especially if you’ve been wearing the same tired old make-up for years. The right make-up can take inches off your face and draw all attention to your eyes rather than your size.

3. Beat the bloat

For a few days before any big event avoid alcohol and caffeine, and drink lots of water to flush out toxins. Eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and eat only small quantities of other carbohydrate foods, keeping to wholegrain rather than white varieties of bread, rice or pasta. If you can afford it, try a body wrap treatment before a special occasion – although the results won’t last for long.

4. Get the size right

Whatever you wear make sure it fits. There’s nothing more unsightly than a body trying to bulge out of an uncomfortably tight dress. If you can’t easily do up a garment then go for a larger size. Better to have a simple outfit of black trousers or long skirt and an evening top than a designer creation that looks less than beautiful on you.

5. Simply does it

Avoid clingy and shiny fabrics, loud prints and bulky details such as gathering, ruffles, puff sleeves and fluffy trimmings which tend to draw unwanted attention to your size.

6. On a budget?

If you can’t afford to treat yourself to a new outfit, update last year’s little number with some new fun jewelry or an evening bag. Or you could look around the second-hand clothing stores and pick up a bargain. If you have a really big occasion think about hiring a dress, especially if you’re in the middle of a weight loss program.

7. Wrap it up

If the tops of your arms are a bit flabby, drape a velvet or satin stole lightly around them for a glam look. You’ll feel chique and elegant. Or choose a dress with long sheer sleeves.

8. Under cover

Remember to wear the right undies so that they support you properly and don’t show horribly under your outfit. Get fitted for a new bra (especially if you’ve lost or gained weight recently). Most large department stores have specialist fitters. And look out for the Bridget Jones type magic knickers that keep your tummy and thighs firmly in check. Wear dark sheer pantyhose or stockings rather than lighter shades and avoid chunky shoes which make legs look heavier.

9. Shady lady

Stay away from light colours which tend to add pounds and choose dark shades. If traditional black doesn’t suit you try navy or some of the beautiful plummy tones around.

10. Be You

Make the effort to look the best you can for your party, but don’t forget that it’s your smile, your posture, your confidence and your whole personality that will be remembered, not your dress or your party shoes. So walk tall, smile and go enjoy the party.

Copyright 2005, Janice Elizabeth Small

Janice Elizabeth is a weight loss coach and slimming club owner with a no diet approach to permanent weight loss. Subscribe to her FREE weekly “No More Diets” ezine full of tips and recipes and receive a 24 page special report “How to have a Great Christmas without piling on the pounds”. Subscribe at http://www.SimplySlimming.com/Christmas TODAY!

Christmas is expanding. It is rapidly becoming a world holiday broadening itself beyond the “christian” belief. It is becoming a holiday that celebrates the virtues of peace, and charity and good will. It is a world holiday celebrating HOPE.

There is so much said on the subject of world peace. And yet the real solution is so simple. It begins with acceptance that we are all different, and that different isn’t really bad.
It is an acceptance that, in spite of our own differences, we are all one family of the earth. It begins with the acceptance of each other as we are, one person at a time.

Christmas is coming soon. This world celebration of the concept of Peace and Hope. There is something we can do, something as individuals to promote this celebration and spread the joy of the fruits of Peace all around us.
It is the individual celebration of the “Twelve Days of Christmas”.
In a nutshell, the celebration involves us choosing an individual or family we would like to share this joy with. Then, beginning on December 13th (the first day of Christmas), we package up a simple gift with a simple verse of greeting. We take this gift and leave it on the doorstep of our chosen family or individual, ring the bell and RUN!!
The key to the magic of this exchange is that the recipient of the gift is never to know the identity of the giver of the gift. That is what ultimately makes the exercise so fun and successful!
Continue to deliver a gift to this chosen family or individual for each succeeding night until December 24th (the twelfth day of Christmas), when you encourage this family or individual to share this same experience with someone next year as you have done with them.

This is a tradition my little family has carried on for almost twenty years! We have enjoyed the mystery and excitement of watching from a distance the happy expressions of those we treat!

Here are a couple of responses left on the porch for us in years past:

“You came for 12 nights
Filled our hearts with delight
We felt Christmas Love
That smiled from above
Loved the joy that you brought
The Christmas Spirit you’ve got
Christmas will never be the same
Because of special gifts that came!

Bless you and yours on this special night, and always and forever know: We love you!”

And another response:

“Thanks so much for making our Christmas so much fun and special. We have loved your nightly visits and gifts! We have been touched that someone is thinking of us. We have felt a little blue every now and then about not being with our family so far away. But as soon as the doorbell rings and we find another surprise, we forget our blues and excitedly run to see what awaits us! Thanks so very much!”

For information and suggestions on getting started yourself, e-mail us at nexushelps@gmail.com.

It is amazing what an anonymous gift of joy from the heart can do for the hope and peace of a longing soul!

Robert Curtis has been writing articles, short fiction and poetry for over 30 years. He is the managing director of Relationship Sense (www.people4people.blogspot.com) and is president of Nexus Publishing (www.nexus4u.blogspot.com).

February 14th, the holiday of Love! Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. Who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentine’s Day — and its patron saint — is shrouded in mystery. St. Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred – none of whom were associated with roses OR chocolate.

Most scholars believe that the St. Valentine of the holiday was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. During this time, around 270 A.D., emperor Claudius ll prohibited marriages for young men, claiming that bachelors made better soldiers. Valentine continued to secretly perform marriage ceremonies but was eventually apprehended by the Romans and ordered by Claudius to be put to death. But his courageous blessing of the bonds of love may have earned him a notable place in history.

Another legend has it that Valentine, imprisoned by Claudius; fell in love with the daughter of his jailer who visited him during confinement. Before he was executed, he allegedly sent her a letter signed “from your Valentine” an expression that is still used today. We could say this marked the very first Valentine’s Day.

Possibly the most plausible story surrounding St. Valentine and his day is one not focused on Eros(passionate love) but on agape (Christian love): he was martyred for refusing to renounce his religion. Subsequently, his love for his god may have gone down in history.

Our final possiblity for the origins our our holiday: It could be that we celebrate Valentines Day on the 14th because this is the day that St. Valentine died. However, some believe that the celebration of Valentines Day was an attempt by the Church to civilize the celebration of the pagan Lupercalia festival – held on the 15th of February. Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine’s Day around 498 A.D. The Lupercalia festival was deemed un-Christian and outlawed.

Valentine’s Greetings

The oldest known valentine gift still in existence today was a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. The greeting, written in 1415, is part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England. According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.) The first commercial Valentine’s Day greeting cards produced in the U.S. were created in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as “scrap”.

And Who is this Cupid?

Another valentine icon you may be wondering about is Cupid (from Latin cupido, “desire”). In Roman mythology Cupid is the son of Venus, goddess of love. His counterpart in Greek mythology is Eros, god of love. Cupid is often said to be a mischievous boy who goes around wounding both gods and humans with his arrows, causing them to fall in love. The Romans believed white roses grew where the tears of Venus fell, as she mourned the loss of her beloved Adonis. Her son Cupid, while being stung by a bee, shot arrows in the rose garden; the sting of the arrows became thorns. Venus pricked her foot on a thorn, and the droplets of blood dyed the roses red.

Sending Roses on Valentine’s Day

Why should you send roses to your loved one this Valentine’s Holiday? The rose is the symbol of love, of magic, of hope, and of passion….perfect to let your loved one know how you feel about him/her! The rose represents ultimate beauty and perfection. It is the messenger of Romance!

A dozen red roses remains the classic Valentine’s Day favorite (ok, it’s a toss up between roses and chocolate – but we all knwo why chocolate is). However, many women report that they adore roses in other colors just as much. There are hundreds of colors to choose from. The choices are endless and it’s easier than ever to select a rose that is as unique as your sweetheart.

Whatever your Valentine’s gift to give or receive, have fun this holiday of love – may this little bit of history add to your enjoyment!

Eric is a friend of the rose growers at rosefarm.com, where one can send roses and gift baskets to their friends and loved ones.

13.8 percent loan rate may look so clean but will it stay unremitting after you’re going to pay back your deferred payment. At this present you can check out rates quickly online and fancy if there are possible sneaky traps you should be aware of. A merchant bank in Lynchburg Virginia or so can have a total different actual rate of interest for a 12500 dollar loan then a moneylender in Minot North Dakota and that makes a clear gap in your weekly pay backs.

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It doesn’t matter if you live in Newport Beach California or in Oshkosh Wisconsin a serious online examination will preserve you often huge troubles. Be impudent today to examine if you have a special offer or if you don’t with the bank that offers you a loan. This is why now you need to check and foresee if you can have a money loan at a honorable percent interest rate. Lots of of the banks wil show you a rate that is looking comely but feels severely or so after a period of time. to see if the merchant bank who you a credit loan is honest.

The normal pattern for baldness in gents is the receding hair line on the forehead that shows a w shape. The top of your head might well also start to become thinner and become finer. Thin hair in patches doesn?t tend to show in male pattern baldness.

Blokes hair grows normally one inch every 8 weeks, every human hair strand will last around 2 to six years and then falls out. Once the gent’s hair drops out a new hair strand takes its place on your head of hair. With baldness once the gent’s hair drops out the hair doesn?t come back.

Each strand of hair sits in a follicle in your scalp, over the course of time the strand in men will often get smaller and result in thinner hair on your head or no hair. The reason for hair loss is still not understood and might well be related to hormones or genetics. Although the follicle can reduce the hair strand follicles are still living. If you need help with baldness visit Advanced Hair Studio today.

Loss of hair may cause loss of confidence in boys and fortunately there are excellent hair loss treatments available in the UK that may help reduce hair loss and boost incredible hair growth. These baldness treatments include minoxidil which is a great topical treatment used directly on the scalp, this genetic hair loss treatment is shown to slow down loss of hair and even produce new hair growth, now that is stunning. Once you stop this genetic hair loss treatment your hair loss will then start back up.