Keeping the Costs of Wedding Cakes Down

Posted on October 20th, 2008 by

A special part of any reception or wedding is the wedding cake. Wedding cakes come in many sizes and shapes and can be designed to accommodate any taste or budget.

Wedding cakes are a necessary part of the festivities and require much thought and consideration to your theme. Traditionally, people often think of the tiered cakes when they think of weddings, but there are many ways that you can accommodate your own creativity into making your cake stand out on its own.

Here are some tips to keeping your cake costs down:

· Make your own wedding cake creations

· Serve cupcakes and a smaller cake for the cake toppers

· Ask a guest with a baking passion to make the cake for you instead of giving you a gift. Just remember to buy the ingredients and toppers yourself.

· Have a baker make the cake but you can put it together yourself

· Buy your own cake toppers and other decorative additions

· Pick up the cake rather than have it delivered.

· Use your own decorations like flowers, autumn leaves as accents rather than theirs etc.

· Use extra candies and Hershey’s kisses as accents

Extra cake accents and dividers that can be made at home for your wedding cake can be done by you and your wedding party.

Nice homemade dividers are:

Oversized Brandy Glasses: you can accent these with ribbons tied around the bottom flute of the glass and flip the glasses upside down in order to allow room for the cake sections.

The glass bottoms will also make a nice sturdy separator for the cake layers to sit on. The best part about this decoration is that you can also place candles or other nice things inside of the flipped upside down glass as an added accent. Aside from the ribbons, you can also use rhinestones or anything else that you might think would make your cake stand out. It’s beautiful, it elegant, and the decoration can be re-used later.

When ordering your cake from a professional, you should be sure to do the following to make sure that you have the smoothest transition possible. Here are the best tips to get you the right cake at the right time, without any hassles:

· Order your cake at least 6-8 weeks ahead of time

· Be prepared to leave a deposit when you place your order

· If you don’t know much about the cake that you want be ready to make an appointment for a taste test of different samples. If this is required, you might need to give yourself a larger amount of time for the cake like 6 months or more

· Know that you will be paying for the decorator’s time as well as the baker’s and the reserved time for your cake

· Think seasonal when it comes to your cake, for example, you can’t get a mousse cake in the summer months because it will go bad

· Remember that the simpler your cake design is the cheaper it will be · If you are planning an outdoor wedding, remember that the heat will melt the icing, flies loves sweet stuff etc. think of this before choosing your cake

· Have a big enough cake to serve all of your guests

· Try to be mindful of allergies and tastes of your guests when choosing your cake

· Choose ornaments that are not misplaced on your cake or too heavy etc.

· Don’t forget to confirm later

· If you have to cancel the cake, do it sooner rather than later or you might get stuck with the bill anyway.

About the author: (Mark Lindsey)
For more tips and ideas on planning your wedding, check out The Ultimate Online Guide to Wedding Planning

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Filed under: Weddings

30 Quick and Easy Kids Costumes

Posted on October 15th, 2008 by

What happened to the ” good ol’ days” when a Halloween costume was your Dad’s old shirt and cap, and a burnt cork beard? Kids costumes don’t have to complicated to be cute!

Each of these quick and easy costumes starts with a few simple materials like hooded sweatshirts, sweat pants, posterboard, craft foam, felt, face paint, and a little imagination.

Pirate
Black sweats, white shirt, red sash and bandanna, cardboard sword covered in foil, parrot beanie baby, stubbly face made with burnt cork or tobacco sprinkled on vaseline covered cheeks

Kid Hit By Lightning
Gray sweats with large yellow felt zigzag pinned to the front, blackened zigzag tears in here and there on suit, hair gelled to stand straight up, burnt cork “burns” on cheeks

Wrapped Present
Cover a large box with colorful wrapping paper. Make a hole in the bottom and invert over child’s head. Add lots of matching ribbons in child’s hair.

Pair of Dice
Paint two large boxes white and add black dots on each side to represent a pair of dice. Cut hole in bottom and invert over children’s heads. You need a friend for this one!

Box of Popcorn
Cover a large box with white butcher paper. Add wide red stripes with markers or colored paper. Make a hole for child’s head. Hot glue some popcorn to the top of the box. Wear red or white tights or sweat pants.

Placard Costumes
Another quick and easy idea for kid costumes is a “placard costume” in which the child wears a hooded sweatshirt and pulls front and back cardboard panels (the placard) on over it. Shape the placard (poster board works fine) as needed for the costume desired, and design it with markers or felt pieces. This type of costume can be adapted to many different themes, such as:

Ladybug
M & M (two kids of different heights can be “plain” and “peanut”!)
Soccerball, Basketball, Baseball
Apple or Pumpkin
Deck of Cards
Favorite Book

Sunflower
Yellow sweat suit. Staple craft foam flower petals end to end onto a wide ribbon and tie around child’s face to make the flower. Paint the face reddish brown with black spots. Make a couple of bright green leaves from craft foam and pin side by side onto front of sweat suit.

Bunch of Grapes
Start with a purple sweat suit. Blow up several purple balloons to the same size and attach to the sweat suit with small safety pins. Complete the look with a green knit cap
with a couple of large green felt leaves attached.

Bag of Trash
Make two leg holes is a large sized trash bag. Have child step into the bag, then add balls of crumpled newspaper to hold a round shape. Make two armholes in each side and secure around the neck .

Little Old Lady
An old house dress with torn stockings and slippers. Curlers in the hair or white wig. Glasses, blacked out tooth, old fashioned pocketbook.

Tourist
Hawaiian shirt or other loud clothes, camera, hat with pins all over it, maps sticking out of pockets, sunglasses.

Crayon
Sweat suit in the chosen color of your crayon. Design the crayon wrapper from poster board, felt pieces or craft foam and baste or pin onto the sweat suit. Add a like-colored plant pot for a hat, or use a large round of poster board, cut from edge to center and make into a pointy hat. Secure under child’s chin with a wide strip of elastic stapled to the hat.

Static Cling
Start with sweat suit of your choice, pin on small clothing items such as socks, hats, mittens, and underwear along with a few dryer sheets.

Cow, Pig, Kitty, Doggy
Hooded sweat suit in the appropriate color ( white cow, pink pig, brown dog). Embellish with felt scraps to make spots, ears, tail, etc.

Backwards Kid
Put clothes and hat on backwards, sunglasses on back of head, say “Treat or Trick!”

Mummy
Tear a white sheet into strips. Paint face white and spray hair with white paint. Smear black under the eyes. Wrap child dressed in white long underwear with sheet strips, securing with clear medical tape, leaving eyes and mouth open.

Angel
White sweat suit with wings of tulle stretched over shaped coat hangers. Glittery headband made from wire circle covered with foil and colorful curling ribbon. Wand made from thin dowel with cardboard star attached to one end, painted silver or gold with glitter and curling ribbon added.

Clown
Sweat suit with colorful felt or fabric paint polka dots.. Clown collar made from felt triangles attached together in a circle to go around child’s neck. Colorful clown wig, nose, and oversized glasses. Facepaint simple blue crosses over eyes, red cheeks, and large red mouth.

Cook
White sweat suit, chef’s hat, large wooden spoon, cookbook under the arm, curly
mustache drawn in face paint.

Nerd
Too small pants, shirt buttoned up wrong, pocket protector, hair slicked back, old pair of glasses with tape, white socks, large textbook to carry under the arm.

About the author:
Patricia B. Jensen is a mother of three and kids party enthusiast. She is the webmaster and owner of Kids-Party-Paradise.com - a comprehensive resource for kids party ideas and complete party plans for many popular themes, including invitations, cakes, decorations, games, costumes, favors, and food.

If you have a web site related to kids, kids parties, or another related theme, you may reproduce this article on your site, provided it appears in its entirety, including this resource box and live clickable link to:
Kids-Party-Paradise.com where great kids parties are “a piece of cake”!

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Filed under: Babies, Crafts and Hobbies, Halloween

Beauty Foods That Will Keep You Young and Healthy

Posted on October 15th, 2008 by

You’ve heard that old saying: True beauty comes from within. Well, now nutritional experts have confirmed that you really are what you eat.Forget French fries and fatty hamburgers. If you want to look beautiful and feel young and healthy, you’ll eat a generous variety of super foods that have been proven to work wonders on the human body.

For a list of vitamin rich foods see: http://www.1-minute-beauty-diva.com/ArticlesVitaminsandBeauty.html

Whether you’re on a low fat diet, low carb diet, or no diet, adding these super foods to your plate should become as second nature to you as putting your lipstick on in the morning.

Healthy Skin – Eat: blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, currants, purple grapes, pumpkin, carrots, butternut squash, sweet potatoes

Healthy Eyes – Eat: broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, bok choy, kale, spinach, romaine lettuce, mustard greens, turnip greens

Strong Bones – Eat: yogurt, kefir, soy, tofu, Drink: skim milk

Reduce Stress – Eat: beans (navy, pinto, red, black, etc.), green beans, sugar snap peas, green peas, chick peas

Boost Immune System – Eat: turkey, skinless chicken breast, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, spinach, Drink: black or green tea

Sun Protection for Skin – tomatoes, watermelon, pink grapefruit

For more information on beauty and health visit: http://www.1-minute-beauty-diva.com/ArticlesVitaminsandBeauty.html

About The Author

Copyright 2004

Donna Monday writes beauty related articles for http://www.1-minute-beauty-diva.com.

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Filed under: Beauty, Food, Health and Wellness

Tips in Preventing Motorcycle Injuries

Posted on September 23rd, 2008 by
Safety in riding motorcycles in order to prevent injuries is a very critical issue especially during the peak of motorcycle season. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons are very much concerned about this issue since there are almost always a lot of motorcycle accidents happening at least one every few days. Most injuries noted from the people brought in the Level One Trauma Units range from serious musculoskeletal injuries, open fractures and head traumas from motorcycle accidents.
The increasing accidents are linked to the increased number of motorcycles on the road. Records show that since 1997, motorcycles sales increased to more than 90%. Last 2001, motorcycles represented only 2.2 percent of all registered vLBGC:336699;ALC:nited States and accounted for 0.34 percent of vehicle miles traveled. However, crashes involving motorcycles accounted for 7.6 percent of total traffic fatalities on America’s roadways. As recently reported by the US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2002 there were 42,815 fatalities from motorcycle accidents. What’s alarming is this is the highest level of fatality report since 1990.
While some accidents cause injuries or lifetime paralysis, some result to fatalities. Thus, these incidents should be a constant reminder for motorcyclists to protect themselves.
According to Maureen Finnegan, MD, professor at the University of Texas and orthopaedic surgeon at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, most motorcycle injuries involve the extremities and the spinal cord. Majority of fatalities are results of head injuries. Thus, she said that the most important tip for motorcycle safety is to wear a helmet. Wearing helmets are estimated to be 29 percent effective in preventing fatal injuries and 67 percent effective in preventing brain injuries for motorcyclists. Another thing is the wearing of proper clothing in riding and of course, really learning how to ride a motorcycle and handle certain situations throughout the ride.
Here are other helpful tips in preventing motorcycle injuries:
• Get professionally trained in motorcycle riding. Research shows that more than 90 percent of all riders that were involved in crashes are just self-taught or taught by friends.
• Secure your license to drive. Nearly 27 percent or one out of four motorcyclists involved in fatal crashes in 2001 was not properly licensed.
• Do not drink and ride. Those most at risk in getting into accidents are inebriated motorcyclists.
• Use helmets that meet the DOT (Department of Transportation) standards.
• Wear protective clothing – this includes goggles or sun shades for eye protection, jacket, full- fingered gloves, long pants and over-the-ankle boots.
• Make sure that your motorcycle clothing and gears are made of abrasion-resistant material, such as leather. Avoid loose, flailing clothing that could impair your vision.
• Wearing brightly colored garments may help other vehicles see/notice you.
• Proper maintenance and monitoring of your bike is of high importance. Observe proper lane positioning of your bike to further increase your visibility to drivers. Keeping a “space cushion” between your bike and other traffic should also be kept in mind.
• Avoid sharing a lane with a car since its driver may not expect you to be there or may not become aware of your presence. Most drivers look out for other bigger vehicles that they may fail to notice you instantly unless something has happened already.
• Ride according to your skill level. Never overestimate yourself. -30-

About the author:Kay Zetkin discovered the pleasure of writing through her daily journals as a teen-ager. Writing in it helped sort out her thoughts, relieve her feelings and record what she observes of the world.

For her, writing is an effective tool to express your viewpoints… To write is already to choose, thus, writing should be done along with a critical mind and a caring soul. She hopes to become more professional, skilled and mature in her craft.

Aside from writing Kay likes to spend her time reading. Reading lets her travel to far-off imagined places and situations. She also learns a lot from books, especially from the socio-political and historical ones.

For comments and inquiries about the article visit http://www.motorcyclepartsbin.com

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Filed under: Cars

Barbeque Basics

Posted on September 23rd, 2008 by

There’s nothing more enjoyable than having friends and family
gathered around amidst the wonderful smells of charcoal-grilled
prawns, vegetables and selected favorites. Barbecuing is one of
those time- honored rituals that go hand in hand with summertime.
Whether you’re in your backyard or at you’re favorite camping
site, barbecuing is a pleasure to be enjoyed by the whole family.

Barbecuing has never been more exciting; with the endless designs
of barbecues available and the myriad of barbecue cookbooks and
cooking shows it really does take barbecuing into a whole new
realm. With recipes for everything from grilled bananas to
peaches and dry rubs for ribs, barbecues aren’t just for cooking
steaks and burgers anymore. With all the available barbecuing
options it helps to know a few of the barbecuing terms and
barbecuing utensils that are used.

Firstly, barbecues come in a wide variety of options; there are
propane, natural gas and the standard barbecues for use with
charcoal. Barbecues can come with range style one, two and four
burner options along with rotisseries. There are even barbecues
that have coolers built right into the bottom! Barbecuing has
never been quite so convenient.

When you’re using your barbecue it really helps to have the right
utensils and barbeque accessories, this will make your barbecuing
experience easier and more enjoyable. Long handled tongs, basting
brushes and spatulas are quite helpful. Heavy -duty oven mitts
can also be useful. Of course you don’t want to forget the proper
wire brushes and scrubbers (crumpled foil even works well) to
remove build-up, keeping your grill racks clean.

Foods that are tender such as fish, vegetables and some burgers
can benefit from cooking in a special grill basket (this way you
aren’t loosing any of your meal into the barbecue). There are
also special racks available to be used with corn, potatoes,
ribs and meat.

An excellent barbecue accessory is the grill wok, with this you
can make you’re favorite stir fries and vegetable dishes; the wok
has small holes throughout that allow heat and smoke to penetrate
the food. Another great grill accessory is the grill pizza tray
used mostly for grilled pizza. Other grill accessories include;
( http://www.best-bbq-online.com/grill-accessories.htm )
the grill topper used for fish and vegetables providing an even
cooking surface, which prevents foods from falling through the
grill rack; you can never have too many skewers in assorted
lengths which can be used with a skewer rack for grilling your
favorite marinated vegetables and meats; smoker boxes for gas
grills filled with soaked wood chips add a wonderful smoked
flavor to foods. Lastly foil packets are available or simple tin
foil to wrap foods, just remember that you may be sacrificing
the grill and smoke flavors when foods are wrapped tightly.

After you have the utensils and proper grilling accessories
needed for you’re barbeque experience you’ll want to familiarize
yourself on the different types of grilling processes and terms
to find
never been qrk best for you and to know exactly what
has to be done. To start, basting is probably the most familiar
of barbecuing terms, a simple brushing with a seasoned liquid
adding both flavor and moisture to your food. A brochette is
just French for a kabob, or simply food cooked on a skewer. A
glaze is a glossy, flavorful coating on food as it cooks as a
result of regular basting.

Three very popular methods of barbecuing are the direct grilling,
dry smoking and indirect grilling methods. Direct grilling is
probably the most popular grilling used, it is when food is
placed directly over the flame. It is a fast method because of
the intense heat and allows for browning on the outside of foods.
This process works best for food requiring short cooking times
such as burgers and steaks, you must remember to turn food over
to allow cooking on both sides. The dry smoking method is
achieved by placing a grill rack indirectly over the heat source
with the barbecue lid down, this allows the flame to burn thus
creating smoke which covers the food, giving you a smoky flavor.
Lastly the indirect grilling is a slow process of cooking because
of less heat, it is done by surrounding a drip pan with the coals
and putting the food over the pan, so the hot air circulates
around the food (similar to a convection oven). It is wise to
check with your barbecue owner manual for indirect grilling
specific to your barbecue, roasts work well with this method.

After you’ve acquired the barbecue and all the necessary cooking
utensils and accessories you’re ready for the best part of
barbecuing and that is the cooking of the food. Sauces, marinades
and rubs are popular cooking ideas when barbecuing. The sauce
can be said to define a great barbecue. Whether you use a little
or a lot is a matter of preference. A sauce often includes sugar,
honey or preserves, which can cause the sauce to burn when
cooking; a suggestion is to brush your sauce on in the last five
to ten minutes of cooking. There are a wide variety of sauces
and glazes to be made ranging from apple butter barbecue sauce
to raspberry piquant sauce.

Marinades are used for soaking your choice of meat, tofu or
vegetables. ( http://www.best-bbq-online.com/marinades.htm )
The marinating both tenderizes and permeates the food with
flavor, adding flavor and promoting crisp brown exteriors,
changing an otherwise average dinner into a great one. Marinades
are virtually fool proof and can be made in advance refrigerated
in an airtight container for up to a week. The three basic
ingredients in a marinade are; flavorings such as herbs, spices,
sweeteners; oils which keep the food pliable and give a crispy
crust; acids such as citrus juices, wines, vinegars and yogurts
used to balance the sweetness. It is suggested to use the acids
sparingly on fish and poultry, as they will soften the flesh
when used.

A virtually fat free and easy way to add flavor to food is by
using a variety of bold seasonings in a rub. The food is rubbed
with spices prior to grilling, the rub transforms into a crunchy
brown crust that seals in the juices and enhances the flavors of
the food. The spices should be generously applied coating the
entire surface of the food; the food should then be covered and
put in the fridge for 15 minutes to 2 hours. Simplicity is the
key for making rubs, salt and sugar are two of the main
ingredients and the rest are up to you.

Whatever your barbecuing specialty might be barbecues can be
both a fun and convenient way to make dinner. Summertime needn’t
be the only time of year that you’re barbecuing, if weather
allows you can barbecue all year round. The options have never
been more exciting, and the variety of foods and recipes never
more abundant.

About,
changing Valerie Giles owns and operates Best BBQ Online , a resource web
site featuring bbq grills, bbq smokers, weber gas grills, grill
accessories and rotisseries, bbq recipes and marinades and patio
heaters. Everything you need for the barbequing season.
http://www.best-bbq-online.com

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Filed under: Food

Amazing Secrets Of A Free Traffic Generation MASTER

Posted on September 23rd, 2008 by

Without traffic to your website, you’re not going to make any money in your online business (unless you’re able to tap into someone else’s traffic).

For many websites… especially new sites, one of the fastest, surest ways to drive traffic to the site is pay per click search engines. The RISK in using pay per clicks is that you don’t know how well that traffic is going to convert before you’ve paid for it. You can adjust your webpages and your pay per click listing fairly quickly, but today I want to share with you two of my MAJOR free traffic generation methods.

The most powerful weapon I’ve used in my marketing arsenal lately is actually… blogging. A blog is simply an on-line diary or weblog. Since they are usually updated frequently, the search engines love them and visit them often.

The way that I use my blogs is that when I make a post, I include a link to a site or webpage that I want spidered by the search engines. Google actually visits my blogs daily, and takes snapshots of everything there, and follows links from the pages, and takes snapshots of those pages! So, I make minor changes to pages that I want to get ranked higher, and then I “help” Google to find those updated pages. It’s a simple, ethical, and very powerful method.

I’m fairly new at blogging, but I’m quickly getting the hang of it. Most of what I know about blogging I learned from a course by my friend Paul Short. The course is called RSS Exposed. I recommend you get a copy of Paul’s course today and set aside 2 hours to digest it. Get it at:
http://www.profitautomation.com/app/adtrack.asp?AdID=109478

Paul is like me… he’s very busy, and doesn’t have time for fluff. So his course is under 100 pages, and it’s all “stuff” that you can read and then immediately implement.

Does this stuff work thought. My friend Stephen Pierce taught me that NOTHING is more powerful than concrete PROOF. So let’s look at how I rank for a few keywords that I’m focusing on right now. I’ll show you with a few of the more than 100 niches that I have top 10…. often top 3 rankings for. I know that showing you these examples may attract the attention of potential and existing competitors, so I won’t show you the most lucrative ones :-)

Readers who know me, know that my real online success started with a simple soul food or southern cookbook! That one cookbook still generates a very nice six-figure income! This season of the year, I know that people are on-line searching for holiday recipes and also gift-giving ideas. My logs show me how my market finds me… keywords and sources. They show that for the cookbook, most find my site through Google, with MSN being a distant second. Here’s how I ranked for a few cooking related terms (as of November 21st, 2004):

Soul Food Recipes - #2 out of 1,220,000
Soul Food - #3 out of 8,840,000
Soul Food Cookbook - #2 out of 273,000
Deep Fried Turkey Recipe - #3 out of 257,000
Deep Fried Turkey Recipes - #4 out of 302,000
Sweet Potato Pie - #2 out of 614,000
Sweet Potato Pie Recipe #2 out of 394,000
Fried Chicken Recipe - #2 out of 861,000
Fried Chicken Recipes - #2 out of 1,160,000
Southern Fried Chicken - #2 out of 436,000
Deep Fried Turkey - #14 out of 330,000
Pound Cake Recipe - #2 out of 547,000
Macaroni And Cheese Recipe - #1 out of 207,000
Collard Green Recipe - #4 out of 21,200
Southern Recipes - # 15 out of 4,970,000
… I guess I need to work on that last listing :-)

One of my other markets is “Internet Marketing,” and those looking to start or improve upon an online or home-based business. How do I rank there? Here are a few of the thousands of terms that bring me in free search engine traffic (again based upon my website logs):

Internet Marketing 101 - # 1 out of 5,550,000
Internet Marketing Course - #2 out of 10,600,000
Free Internet Marketing Course - #2 out of 11,800,000
Free Internet Marketing Lessons - #2 out of 2,810,000
Homebased Business - #9 out of 1,930,000
Homebased Business Course - #1 out of 522,000
Free Homebased Business Course - #1 out of 483,000

For those of you without your own product, let’s see how I do with products I have reprint rights to. One is a web copywriting course by Bob Serling called Power Copywriting For The Internet. When someone is searching for that course they search on very specific terms… but… since their search is so specific, a higher percentage of them will buy when they get to my website. This is a more niche market, but some of my rankings are:

Internet Copywriter + Bob Serling - #1 out of 985
Web Copywriting + Bob Serling - # 7 out of 918
Web Copywriting Course + Bob Serling - #5 out of 16,400
Power Copywriting For The Internet - #2 out of 128,000

Another product that I have reprint rights to is an excellent course on how to increase your website, and advertising, conversion rates. It’s called, “Small Changes - Big Profits.” Here’s my ranking on keywords customers have recently used to find (and buy) this product:

Increase Website Conversion - #6 out of 2,480,000
How to Increase Website Conversion - # 6 our of 2,490,000
Note that when you enter that last phrases, Google tells you that “how to” is a very common phrase and therefore not included in the search. However, notice that Google found an additional 10,000 pages when I gave it that expression. Ok, so I’m confused too :-)

My second most powerful weapon right now is that I write lots of ezine articles… like this one. Since 1998, I would estimate that I’ve written over 300. Those articles are a very powerful way of getting one-way links to my site. Those articles are a powerful way for people with specific problems or interest to find my sites.

Here’s a simple example of how powerful articles can be. I know for a fact that the majority of people in network marketing aren’t doing that great. I also know why. The proof that I know what they are doing wrong, and how to correct it, is provided by the fact that I was recently the #2 producing representative in a major network marketing company for 2 consecutive months. The only reason I wasn’t #2 longer is that I’ve only been with the company a little over 4 month, and that in my fourth month, I was the #1 top producing rep in the entire company!

Recognizing what many network marketers are doing wrong… especially those that market over the internet, I wrote an article on the topic. This article targeted those who wanted to know why their network marketing is failing. So if you go to Google and enter…

“Network Marketing Failing” without the quotation marks, you’ll see that the returns for webpages featuring my article take up the entire first page. If a person were to type in the statement “My Network Marketing Is Failing” my page ranks #1 out of 312,000. Do people search on these terms? Not as many as search on more competitive terms, but why not go after easier terms… why not go after “the low-hanging fruit.”

People do visit my sites after reading the hundreds of articles that I’ve written, and they do make purchases and join my network marketing team. That’s proof that writing and properly using articles is a very powerful traffic generation technique. I have lots of resources on how to properly do this inside my private membership site. If you’re not a member, you should join today. Inside the site you’ll find lots more solid, usable information like you just gotten in this article.

I’ve just shared with you two of my most powerful free traffic generation methods. I actually know HUNDREDS but only use a handful. I believe that it’s better to get really good at using a few rather than tinkering with (but never mastering) many. You need to do your research and find the techniques that work best for you.

If you’d like a really comprehensive course on website traffic and sales generation methods, I recommend John Reese’s Traffic Secrets Course. Check out John’s course to learn a ton of ways to outflank your competition at:
http://www.profitautomation.com/app/adtrack.asp?AdID=110203
It’s 14 DVD’s, so realize that it will throw a LOT of information at you. Make sure that you pick just a few techniques he covers, and then put them into immediate action rather than letting the sheer volume of information overwhelm you.

As I’ve demonstrated, being a master at generating free, responsive traffic doesn’t have to be complicated or even difficult :-)

About the author:

Willie Crawford is a corporate president, published author, seminar speaker and host, tele-seminar speaker and host, retired military officer, karate black belt, master network marketing trainer, and lifetime student of marketing. He shows people how to actually generate substantial income on-line using very simple, easily modeled systems. An example of such a system that you can study and duplicate is at:
http://ProfitMagician.com

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Filed under: Internet Marketing / Online Business

A Financial “To Do” List for Engaged Couples

Posted on September 15th, 2008 by

Engagement can be a hectic and overwhelming time for all parties involved. However, by setting a wedding budget and by creating a long-term money-management plan, you can ensure that you will start off on the right foot. Follow these steps for a good marriage preparation:

1. Prepare to merge finances
Discuss your spending and saving habits, your debts and assets and your respective salaries. Be sure that you have a realistic idea of how marriage will affect you both as a couple and as individuals.

2. Plan your wedding
Make a realistic assessment of how much you can spend. While the average wedding cost is $15,000, with careful planning you may be able to go lower than that and create memories that will last forever.

3. Decide on whether to have a prenuptial agreement
Prenuptial agreements aren’t always necessary. However, if there is a considerable difference in your net assets, it would be foolish not to have one drafted by a lawyer and signed by the necessary parties.

4. Merge your money
In the eyes of the law (and creditors), a married couple is a single financial unit. This holds true, even for those couples who decide to open joint bank accounts.

5. Go over your taxes
A good accountant may help out in this area. Generally speaking, dual-income families get penalized by tax laws. Evaluate your tax situation and decide if it is worth it for both of you to work.

About the author:
Nathan Dawson writes for http://www.marriedfinances.comand http://www.successfulmarriageresource.com,great online sources for marriage and finance information.

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Filed under: Weddings

5 Heart Healthy Exercises You Can Do During Pregnancy

Posted on September 15th, 2008 by

Pregnancy is a time of celebration, love, and unwanted but necessary weight gain. However, being pregnant doesn’t mean that your health and figure has to suffer permanent damage. You can gain weight in a healthy fashion while doing some very easy and safe heart healthy pregnancy exercise routines.

One of the simplest and most effective pregnancy exercises you can do is walking. Not only is walking one of the best cardiovascular exercises, it is also one of the safest pregnancy exercises you can engage in. Walking is one of the few pregnancy exercises that you can do for the complete duration of your pregnancy.

Another extremely beneficial heart healthy pregnancy exercise is swimming. Countless doctors and pregnant women have attested to the wonderful benefits of swimming during pregnancy. A weekly pregnancy exercise routine of swimming gives both the arms and legs a great workout while promoting cardiovascular health. Because of the nature of being subdued in water, swimming will also remind expectant mothers what it felt like before the pounds were added on. This is definitely a welcome change every now and then.

The third pregnancy exercise routine you can start doing to keep your body healthy is enrolling in an aerobics class. Many fitness centers and community centers offer low impact aerobics classes for pregnant women. One of the nicer benefits of this pregnancy exercise is that it is done in the company of other pregnant women under the watchful eye of a professional aerobics instructor. This means you are going to get a safe workout catered to the special needs of pregnancy.

Weight training is also a very beneficial pregnancy routine to keep your body healthy. Although you must only use very light weights when engaging in this pregnancy exercise, weight training is an excellent way of toning your body and increasing muscular strength.

The last heart healthy pregnancy exercise you can do to stay fit is Pilates/yoga. Both of these body conditioning exercises promote stretching and flexibility within the muscles. Yoga is also a nice accompaniment to walking. By doing a combination of these pregnancy exercises, you can have a healthy balanced cardiovascular routine.

Being pregnant doesn’t mean that you have to sacrifice exercise and health. By walking, swimming, doing aerobics, weight training, and engaging in a Pilates/yoga routine, you can have a healthy and fit pregnancy.

About the author:
Tia Rodriguez is a health and wellness coordinator for an upscale sports management agency. To learn more about how a pregnancy exercise routine can benefit you during your pregnancy, check out the resources at http://www.pregnancy-without-pounds.info

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5 Steps To Conquering Male Hair Loss…

Posted on September 15th, 2008 by

Would you like to know how to conquer your hair loss problem?

Well, here are the 5 critical steps that have been followed by every single guy who has ever conquered their hair loss problem…

LISTEN TO ME: If you want to conquer your hair loss, then what do you think you need to do?

That’s right, YOU MUST follow these same steps. There is no question about it…

So, without further ado, here goes…

Critical Step #1: YOU MUST understand why YOUR hair loss is occuring. Otherwise, to put it politely – You have no hope!

Critical Step #2: YOU MUST be equipped with the most powerful treatments and techniques on the planet. This is not any easy task – sifting through hundreds of scam treatments to find one or two “real deal” treatments is like finding a needle in a haystack…

Critical Step #3: YOU MUST develop a treatment regime. A treatment regime is a combination approach towards hair loss. See, if you just take 1 approach, you’ll be throwing all your eggs in one basket! You also need to choose treatments that you are personally comfortable with using. There are upsides and downsides to every treatment…

Critical Step #4: YOU MUST develop a plan of action, and decide which treatments to include in your regime. Then you need to get hold of these treatments at reasonable prices. And boy, there is a gigantic range in prices for the same ingredients!

Critical Step #5: YOU MUST commit to a plan and then find an effective way to track your results. It’s the only way that you’ll know whether your treatment regime is working…

The bottom line? Conquering your hair loss problem will take a little effort, but believe me, its worth it…

About the author:
Dave Klein is the author of The Ultimate Hair Loss Solution http://www.HowToStopHairLoss.comThe most powerful hair loss treatment program on Earth. Visit now http://www.HowToStopHairLoss.comand get your FREE sample…

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Filed under: Hair

How Do I Choose The Best Arthritis Medicine?

Posted on August 21st, 2008 by

Are you spending a fortune on prescription arthritis medicines? Are they helping? Are you concerned about side effects? You may think a particular drug is a miraculous godsend. Yet, someone you know may take the same dose only to experience little relief and life-threatening side effects. All of the choices can be confusing.

The best treatment for your arthritis is based on your needs. Making the diagnosis of “osteoarthritis” is fairly straightforward, but deciding what to do about it is a complex and very individualized matter. There’s a wide range of options available to help you deal with OA; medicines are only part of the picture:

  • The Basics: Weight Management / Exercise / Education / Modify Activities
  • Medications: Pain Relievers, NSAIDs (like ibuprofen), Supplements
  • Injections/ Bracing
  • Surgery

The highest dose of the latest, “greatest” arthritis medicine on the market will NOT help unless you follow common-sense health practices. Focus on low-tech/low-cost habits that pay off throughout your body and quality of life. Modify the combination of remedies over your lifetime as symptoms wax and wane. Start simple, and then move to the next step if the first isn’t helping. You can cut back during the times you have less pain.

At this point, available medicines can relieve the symptoms of osteoarthritis, not cure it. There are some treatments for rheumatoid arthritis that can slow down joint destruction. Scientific research suggests that nutritional supplements, like glucosamine, might strengthen cartilage tissue. Stay tuned!

The dozens of arthritis medications available are categorized by drug class. The drug classes differ in the way your body handles the chemical that makes up the drug, known as the mechanism of action. Different mechanisms of action target different arthritis symptoms: pain vs. stiffness vs. inflammation. If you understand the classes, you will understand:

  • how each drug works,
  • which drugs are related because they work in a similar way,
  • what side effects can occur, and
  • why a drug may or may not be right for you.

Fortunately, there are eight drug classes to choose from to relieve your osteoarthritis symptoms. If you must avoid a whole class because you have another health condition, there are plenty of others that could keep you comfortable. Combining smaller doses from different classes may be the right answer. Usually only with prudent, thoughtful trials will you and your doctor discover what’s best for you. Keep a diary of the remedies you try, and their effects, good and bad. You spend a lot of money trying to feel better - don’t waste it!

Beware of your drugs’ true cost! “Cost” applies not only to the money you pay for the pills, but also to the toll they could take on your system in terms of side effects like stomach ulcers, kidney failure, addiction, and other problems worth avoiding!

OA is a chronic, degenerative condition that progresses at different rates in different patients (and even in different joints in the same body!) You’ve got better things to do than let OA rule your day. The right treatment strategy will get you back to the Pursuit of Happiness!

Want to learn more about all EIGHT classes of OA drugs? Visit www.knowyourbones.com to order “Making Sense of Arthritis Medicine: Manage Your Symptoms Safely” and discover relief that’s right for you!

Stephanie E. Siegrist, MD is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon in her 10th year of practice, and author of “Making Sense of Arthritis Medicine.” She’s one of only 3% of U.S. orthopedic surgeons who are women! Dr. Siegrist strives to bridge the gaps that exist in today’s doctor-patient relationship with “Information Therapy!” Complete information about Dr. Siegrist, and the book, are available from her website.

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Filed under: Health and Wellness

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