Congratulations on waking up each morning and greeting the day with renewed determination! Perhaps you rise and say, Today’s the day I will make it through the entire day sticking to my diet goals.” What a wonderful, optimistic way to begin a fresh day. Ahead of you lies the promise of a new day, a fresh start.

Sometimes though, as experience has shown, good intentions alone aren’t enough to overpower the urge to binge. This is where positive desire needs to be coupled with a sound action plan. Willpower alone isn’t enough to overcome a craving, the desire to binge or compulsively overeat. What provides empowerment is a predetermined, personalized plan of action. An individual plan that was carefully thought out ahead of time and written down.

Think about it when was the last time you ‘easily’ sidestepped a binge or craving? Or ‘effortlessly’ drove past the fast food restaurant when a craving hit? Chances are, the urge to eat was so strong that it blocked out all rational, goal oriented thought. In a moment of crisis, focus and optimistic intentions seem to disappear.

Believe it or not, the part of you that woke up this morning and firmly stated that today was going to be a success, is still there. A part of you does still want to make it through the day without overeating. Hidden somewhere behind the overwhelming urge to eat is that aspect of you that was so confident earlier. It’’s going to be your job to go looking for it and to bring it back to the forefront. For this, you”re going to need some tools in your tool box.

When you’re in the midst of a crisis is no time to be gathering new tools. Instead, during strong and confident times is when it’s time to prepare your tool box. That way, when you need them they are already there. You’ll just have to open the box and dig them out when needed. Use the guidelines below to begin preparing your personal plan of action to bypass a possible binge or craving.

PRE-BINGE PLANNING
Once you’re in the midst of a crisis, it’s often impossible to view what’s going on objectively. Overwhelmed by the desire to eat, it’s difficult to gain the perspective needed to seek out alternative actions. It’s possible that eating is your familiar way of coping with what’s going on. So the urge may be intense. With such a powerful desire to eat, your mind is not going to be focused enough to recall your big picture. Take time now to solidify the long range foundation of your personal goals.

A. “CRISIS STRATEGY LIST” Develop a list of things you can do, or have done in the past, to overcome the need to eat. When a crisis moment hits, you can decide which category or categories of ideas might help you through the moment. Include ideas in all the following categories:

DISTRACTION Ideas that bring pleasure and/or distance from food. Examples might include craft hobbies, walking, cleaning house, planting in garden, etc.

1.

2.

3.

4.

BEHAVIORAL STRATEGIES Options that help you deal with your environment. These strategies might include drinking water to see if you were really thirsty instead of hungry, throwing away the tempting food, inviting a friend over, etc.

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2.

3.

4.

SELF SOOTHING AND COMFORTING STRATEGIES Instead of using to food to calm or feel better, what are other ways that you can soothe your soul with? Examples could include a warm and fragrant bath, deep breathing, yoga, peaceful music, or going to the park to watch the trees and feel the wind.

1.

2.

3.

4.

EMOTIONAL NEEDS Find alternative ways to first identify and then cope with the underlying emotion you might be feeling. Talk to a friend or counselor, journal, begin to sit with the emotion, are just a few ways of dealing with an emotion instead of eating to suppress it.

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2.

3.

4.

After your list is completed, keep it in a place where you can easily get to it when needed (i.e. purse, refrigerator, etc.). Revise or update your list as needed.

B. PHONE LIST It is also important to reach out during times of crisis. During moments of urgency we often feel scared, alone, and out of control. Reaching out to someone during this time can help to relieve some of the distress that you may be having. It might also help to prevent a slip or set-back. Talking to someone about your feelings can remind you that others care for you and that you are not alone. Below write down names and numbers of compassionate, understanding people you can reach out to. While it may initially be difficult to “reach out and touch someone,” it will gradually become easier. The person that you call will be glad that you trusted them enough to lean on them during a tough time.

NAME PHONE NUMBER

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2.

3.

4.

5.

C. PERSONAL MANTRA
Develop a short one or two line statement that is meaningful to you. Take some time with this one and find powerful quote or meaningful statement that resonates within you. Something that brings you back to the larger picture, perhaps reminds you of where you wanted to go with your goal. When crisis occurs, look up your statement and begin repeating those words to your self.

Examples:

* I have the strength to stand strong for everything I believe in.

* I have the ability to change anything in my life that I choose to change.

* I take complete responsibility for my life.

* Everyday in every way I am growing more and more confident.

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

Begin developing your own personalized strategy now. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect or if you’re not sure if the ideas you write down will work. It’s an ongoing plan that you will revise, and continue to fine tune. No one strategy works in every situation. Take a look at your past successes and begin to note what occasionally worked. Notice also what did not work.

Copyright 2005, Dr. Annette Colby, all rights reserved.

Dr. Annette Colby, RD
Nutrition Therapist & Master Energy Healer
“Opening Creative Portals to Success”
972.985.8750
Annette@AnnetteColby.com

For free inspirational newsletter, articles & info visit:
http://www.LovingMiracles.com

A Powerful book Based on a true story, taking place in Ottawa Canada. Sigrid Macdonald vividly makes us aware of this growing and ignored epidemic. Missing Persons is an epidemic ignored by many, and as this story unfolds, it is amazing how our eyes are open wide shut.

The title of the book is a masterful description which clearly depicts the pages ahead. Based on a true story, it is an astounding book on women’s passage in society based in modern Ottawa. One women’s life, but many are still missing. I closed the last flap of the book feeling empathy, and compassion for those unfound and the painful footprints left in those still looking.

The characters are real and the story is profound. It is original with a roller coaster ride that explores the reality of a social problem everywhere. Macdonald establishes D’Amour Road, the road of love, also a road to tragedy and unsaid mystery as the search begins for Lisa.

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

Marie believes that individual style is a form of self-expression. Marie knows the trends and where to find them. Her expertise and knowledge give consumers everywhere the insight they need to get the latest styles and products that fit everyone and every budget, both online and off.

For More information or how to become and editor for She Unlimited Magazine please e-mail: admin@sheunlimited.com

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

Marie believes that individual style is a form of self-expression. Marie knows the trends and where to find them. Her expertise and knowledge give consumers everywhere the insight they need to get the latest styles and products that fit everyone and every budget, both online and off.

For More information or how to become and editor for She Unlimited Magazine please e-mail: admin@sheunlimited.com

Sometimes, however hard you try, there is simply no way you are going take that special picture. Things have a habit of getting in the way. Perhaps work, perhaps family. Perhaps during some festivity or other you are simply too busy or tied up to care about your photography.

Then guilt can set in. Occasionally you can feel ashamed of your behaviour and somehow berate yourself for letting slip something that has been your life. You have told friends and family about your love of photography and you have bought expensive digital equipment to show off your talents. Everyone and his proverbial dog knows that you are THE man (or woman) in photography - at least, in their world.

Yet suddenly you have a gap in your activity. A glitch, an emptiness.

And, yes, it can hurt. The feeling that you may have lost that spark. The feeling that you may have lost “face” amongst colleagues. The emptiness that you can feel when you are not busied with snapping the shutter, uploading to the computer, retouching the images, printing or otherwise sharing your talents.

Well, here is a message: “Don’t worry!”

There are many things that take over importance in your life. Being with friends and family is special and precious. Taking time out to laugh, be merry or simply relax is fine. Being able to simply switch off and go and do something else is just dandy.

It shouldn’t worry you. If you have a love of photography then you will soon be back to it. The potential images will still be there - the landscapes, the portraits, the action shots. The computer and other equipment will be ready and waiting, none the worse for you small diversion.

You don’t have to feel guilty either! We all need special times just for us and our nearest friends and relations. You are special in the same way that you believe you love of photography is special.

The likelihood is that you will return to your hobby with renewed vigour and enthusiasm. Perhaps fired up with new and exciting ideas.

And that means even greater images!

Eric Hartwell runs the photography resource site http://www.theshutter.co.uk and the associated discussion forums as well as the regular weblog at http://thephotographysite.blogspot.com.

If you work out every single day and you have a workout schedule then a massive hurricane or catastrophic storm, which is coming your way can cause a catastrophic problem in your weight loss program. For those of us that workout a lot we know that every day if we don’t workout we go a day backwards and that is not a good day.

One thing you can do is to learn more about isometric exercises and other ways that you can work even if the local gym is closed and the power is out for weeks on end. This way as long as you have proper water and food you can continue your workout at home with push-ups, sit-ups and pull-ups around your house and stay fit.

Sure, it is not the same as being at the gym however, you can maintain your health and exercise schedule if you’ll pay attention to exercise principles, which you can find in exercise books. There is no reason to sacrifice your health just because mother nature has washed out your city and destroyed your town.

You should buy a fitness book on isometric and cardiovascular exercises you can do at home without gym equipment if you do not have the gym equipment at your house. It is an important consideration and your body needs to continue to workout if you are to continue to keep the weight off and stay healthy. This will also let you relieve stress from such catastrophic events in your life. Please consider this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

There was once a time when there were no telephones, facsimile machines, personal devices, computers or the Internet. Today most people cannot phantom such a primitive existence. Communication is the link that allows our world to function at its torrid pace. Business must continually adopt modern technology to successfully compete in a world that demands instantaneous results. The proper management of communication infrastructure is crucial in the success of any organization.

The entry points into every organization usually include a combination of auto attendant, custom call routing (CCR), voice mail, interactive voice response (IVR), automated call distribution (ACD), wireless and countless other devices. Many organizations are turning to communication servers over conventional PBX systems to deploy VoIP based pipelines that reduce cost and maximize flexibility. Voice and data communication can now co-exist and flow freely through the same bandwidth. Calls can easily be configured to simultaneously ring multiple devices, hunt to wireless or home phones, route to voice mail or forward to another call center.

Communication management is now a multi-pronged approach that combines statistics from various facilities to identify billing irregularities, misuse, bottlenecks, inactivity, productivity or workforce expense.

Billing reconciliation is often overlooked since carriers always bill based on contracted tariff plans, right? According to analysts at Gartner, “Organizations can routinely save more than 10% of their annual telecommunications expenses by systematically checking their carrier bills against equipment and services in use.” But it is no longer effective to look exclusively at your traditional telephone invoices and compare them to the call accounting system in the back room.

The old adage rings true today “you cannot manage what you cannot measure”. Call accounting is no longer the killer application of current times but it is certainly a necessary component. Leading edge communication management systems now collect system logs, Internet usage reports, router statistics, voice mail logs, CCR, hunt group information and various device-dependent logs as well as traditional call detail records (CDR).

Have you ever called your favorite electronics store to inquire about the latest digital cameras but got trapped in a series of never-ending prompts about store hours, hard drive specials and video games? Many companies are taking advantage of communication management systems (CMS) that study activity from automated attendant and custom call routing trees. These reports help pinpoint whether calls are being prematurely dropped, abandoned or misdirected. It is imperative that customers are quickly and efficiently routed to their desired destination. The customer experience with your communication facilities will dictate whether they return.

Cost allocation to various corporate levels has been a basic functionality of most robust call accounting system for years. The downward trend of long distance expenses due to falling carrier rates, bundled services and VoIP competition has lessened the importance of this feature. This has resulted in the misconception that call accounting is no longer relevant. However many companies forget that there are many hidden costs that can be highlighted through proper use of call accounting or communication management software.

If Jimmy in sales spends half his time talking on the phone, management might be thrilled at his dedication. However if Jimmy is spending half his time talking to his girlfriend, perhaps management should take a second look. Call Accounting can be a key indicator of misuse and employee productivity. Employee productivity recovery is one of the primary reasons to own a system today!

Often fraudulent calls may be routed through corporate facilities without the knowledge of the company. Hackers can find faults in improperly designed networks, infrequently used extensions, voice mail ports and tandem trunks. A call accounting watchdog should always be monitoring activity for irregular patterns. Modern call management systems utilize SMS, pager, email and web interfaces for instantaneous reporting.

Communication management is imperative in providing the proper metrics for migrating to IP. Most companies do not even have a proper migration strategy. Call accounting can help ease the transition by highlighting traffic volumes, peak hours, grade of service, abandoned calls, blocked calls, calls to reception and various other peg counts. These statistics will help determine the bandwidth needs and requirements for auto attendant, wireless, IVR and other services.

Some communication management systems have been established interoperability with major manufacturers such as Nortel, Cisco and Avaya. These systems often provide more tight knit integration through third party call control. These solutions often enhance the hardware by adding such features as: forced and verified account codes, call trace, set locking and real time emergency notification.

Often companies forget about the need for pinpointing the source of a telephone call in case of an emergency. Many call accounting systems have built-in real time alarm triggers that will alert authorized personnel of an emergency call. This feature is crucial when seconds could mean life or death.

Call accounting has definitely evolved and matured into communication management. The need for this software is more important than ever.

References:
Call Accouting for Every Enterprise (http://ezinearticles.com/?id=86399), Rito Salomone, October 2005
Better Management of Telecom Expenses, March 15, 2005
Additional Reference: What Great Telecom Managers Know, Roger Yang, Avema, June 2005

Rito Salomone is the president of Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI). He has 17 years experience in the field of communication management solutions.

For more information you can review: http://www.telecost.com or contact the author at rsalomone@telecost.com

Diamonds radiate with more than their sparkle. They radiate with romance! With love! With dreams come true! For some people these words are all synonymous. “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend,” sang Carol Channing in the Broadway show, “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” and a half-century later these words still resonate with some truth. Immortalized as a symbol of love at an engagement, diamonds have adorned the heads of kings and queens, and been the bait of ransom for others. Many men have died trying to acquire diamonds, and women have been known to sell their honor to be able to wear them. Diamonds themselves were found in India many thousands of year ago and adorned only the wealthiest at that time.

Diamonds also play another role in our society - that of being one of the hardest known substances that modern industry can use. The word diamond originally came from the Greek word ‘adamas,’ which meant indestructible. Because the majority of diamonds mined are either too small or too imperfect to adorn the hand of love, they are used for industrial purposes where their hardness, rather than their beauty, reflects their value.

Diamonds are measured by weight, much like coal or potatoes. The basic unit, called a carat, is 200 milligrams, or 1/142nd of an avoirdupois ounce. Although measured by weight, a well-cut, one-carat diamond will measure one-quarter of an inch diameter. A most interesting fact is that an eight-carat diamond will measure only one-half of an inch diameter. Among the largest diamonds ever found was one weighing an awesome 3,106 carats - fist sized. It was cut into eight of the world’s greatest diamonds and 96 lesser gems.

Some occupations allow the craftsman to make a mistake, but not that of the diamond cutter. A large, rough uncut diamond has the potential of being worth millions. One slip on the part of the cutter and the stone becomes almost worthless. Legends tell of the rich diamond owners of years ago standing over their cutters while they worked.

Should they make a wrong cut he would order their immediate execution.The true aim of cutters then and now is to bring out the maximum brilliancy of the stone while eliminating as many flaws as possible and still retaining the maximum weight.The cutters are truly artists at this most specialized trade. While Nature made the raw stone, it takes a talented human to reveal the potential of its hidden beauty.

The services of an expert are truly necessary when acquiring diamonds for one’s own personal use. No other product has such potential for deceit or fraud. The reputable dealer remains your best insurance as you fall in love with the brilliance, fire and beauty of each diamond.

Graeme Nortega is the webmaster of Exquisite Stones One Stop shop for all diamonds info.For more information, go to: www.roadiamonds.com

My first car was a extraordinary black, 2 door 1962 Chevy Belair with blue vinyl seats, which Inicknamed “The Black Beauty”! I mean she shined beautifully when polished. There is nothing like a black car highly polished! It also didn’t hurt to have those 8 cylinders and that great 283 workhorse engine that Chevy put in it! And all for the bargain price of $400! Five years later I sold it for the same price!

Like many of my generation, we normally got cars for our graduation. I was lucky, as my dad worked for Rolls Royce and the head mechanic there, Johnny T was selling this fantastic car. Now this wasn’t just any 1962 Chevy Belair. Since Johnny T was an avid fisherman and didn’t want to ruin the upholstery he covered the cloth upholstery with a blue vinyl one. Johnny also put in all the instrumentation needed on the inside of the car, oil and temp gauge, and tach. He also installed a blinker system, so the blinkers were on the hood. The final coupe de grace was putting Rolls Royce seat belts in the car. Since Johnny was a great mechanic and of course,did all his own work, when he sold us the car he included extra tires and all the materials to keep the brakes up to par for many years to come.

I can remember my first drive in the car. I pulled out of my drive way and drove over to the park a couple blocks away, too, of course, show it off to all my friends.

I cleaned the Black Beauty every weekend from top to bottom. My Saturday morning ritual was cleaning the inside, and then washing it. I waxed it once a month. My dad went and got me a 8
track cassette for it (yes, I know I just dated myself; for those of you who don’t know what an8 track is, think CD player of today)! Unfortunately my poor baby was broken into a couple
oftimes when they stole my 8 track and some very nasty person slit the front seat. Bad enough they took my 8 track and tapes, the least they could have done is left the seat alone. So, yes there were bad eggs around then too!

Whenever we had to make a trip into the city (New York that is), my father made me drive whilehe sat in the back seat. It had a amazingly comfortable ride, even with all the pot holes
on the Long Island Expressway! In addition to drives into the city, I had loads of fun in the Black Beauty with my friends.

Unfortunately I had to sell the “Black Beauty” when my husband and I went off to graduate school. However, don’t feel too bad, we had replaced it with a 1976 Pontiac Trans Am, yep, the last of the big 455’s. Plus we had the engine blue printed, balanced and a whole lot more, so it really hauled a**!

We sold the Black Beauty to a neighbor, who took out the vinyl seats and lo and behold the cloth ones were in excellent condition. He eventually sold it to his brother in Brooklyn, who while driving one day went to step on the brake pedal and his foot went through the floor. Unfortunately the harsh NY winters aren’t kind to cars!

I think many of us wax sentimental when we think of our first car, I know I do! Luckily , I still have my pictures and some very great memories of my “Black Beauty”!

Drive On!

DeFiore Enterprises, Copyright 2005

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Further, using a screen reader is, according to some users, considerably more difficult than using a GUI and many applications have specific problems resulting from the nature of the application. A persons choice of screen reader is dictated by many factors, including platform and the role of organizations like charities, schools, and employers.

Screen readers are a form of assistive technology potentially useful to people who are blind, visually impaired, or learning disabled, often in combination with other AT such as screen magnifiers. The open source GNOME desktop environment long included Gnopernicus and now includes Orca. The primary audience for such applications is those who have difficulty reading because of learning disabilities or language barriers. The rest have some vision, from light perception alone to relatively good acuity. Access technology such as screen readers and Screen magnifiers enable the blind to use mainstream computer applications. Increasingly, screen readers are being bundled with operating system distributions.

Indeed functionality remains limited compared to equivalent desktop applications, the major benefit is to increase the accessibility of said websites. While Apple Mac OS X includes VoiceOver, a more feature-rich screen reader. The latter developed in part by Knopper who has a visual impairment. Recent versions of Microsoft Windows come with the rather basic Narrator. Next month Anthony Loeff nonprofit volunteer is writing about screen readers for visually impaired Experimental approaches in sensory substitution are beginning to provide access to arbitrary live views from a camera.

Linux distributions for the blind include Oralux and Adriane Knoppix. The movement towards greater web accessibility is opening a far wider number of websites to adaptive technology, making the web a more inviting place for visually impaired surfers. Screen reader choice is contentious: differing priorities and strong preferences are common. This interpretation is then represented to the user with text-to-speech, sound icons, or a braille output. A screen reader is a software application that attempts to identify and interpret what is being displayed on the screen. Only a small fraction of this population, when compared to the sighted community, have Internet access.

The console-based Oralux Linux distribution ships with three screen-reading environments: Emacspeak, Yasr and Speakup. Web browsers, word processors, icons and windows and email programs are just some of the applications used successfully by screen reader users. Most legally blind people 68 percent do not use computers. Screen readers can be assumed to be able to access all display content that is not intrinsically inaccessible.

Approximately 16 percent of those deemed legally blind, by any measure, have no vision. There are also open source screen readers, such as the Linux Screen Reader for GNOME and NonVisual Desktop Access for Windows.

Later versions of Microsoft Windows include an Accessibility Wizard & Magnifier for those with partial vision, and Microsoft Narrator, a simple screen reader. The Macintosh OS also comes with a built-in screen reader, called VoiceOver.

Some fear that the breast implants will not last and they will begin to leak. Although this does happen, it is a very rare phenomenon. Most women who have gone through breast enlargement surgery didn’t experience any problems with their silicone breast implants. You will never have to replace your breast implants unless you come across a problem with them. Most breast implant replacements are made because the patient wants a new shape or size for her breasts. Although leakage and asymmetry are also among the reasons, they are very rare when compared with the conscious requests of the patients to modify their breast implants.

While the inframammary incision is the most popular, other types of breast enlargement incisions should be considered. The crease incision has the huge advantage of leaving a minute scar that is barely noticeable. A transaxillary breast incision gives surgeons less control on where to implant the silicone. Incisions around the areola heal faster, but the abundance of nerve endings in the area made many surgeons feel that changes in tactile sensations might be present. There are various breast enlargement procedures available, but silicone breast implants are still the number one favorite. In the United States alone, over 200,000 women may have breast augmentation surgery each year. This cosmetic surgery procedure has become very safe and convenient for most women who desire larger breasts. There are a few regulations concerning breast implants in the US presented below:

Here is a set of regulations passed by the FDA in regards to silicone breast implants:

1. Replacement or revision of saline implants
2. Tuberous breast deformity
3. Congenital breast reconstruction
4. Breast augmentation to the opposite breast for symmetry
5. Augmentation with a breast lift (mastopexy)
6. Severe asymmetries of the breast
7. Breast cancer reconstruction

You have to be at least 18 to be eligible for breast enlargement surgery. There are some special cases when a cosmetic doctor may refuse to perform surgery on a patient: if the patient has certain medical conditions or diseases that may affect wound healing, the plastic surgeon might not give her green light for breast enlargement.

Michael Rad is the webmaster of Breast Enlargement Expert, a free informational resource hub dedicated to explaining breast augmentation. Other health-related websites that you might be interested in include Arthritis treatment information and Depression Treatment Expert

A few years ago when I decided to do business online, I was a bit in the dark. I was so excited that I didn’t even take some time to learn some basic stuff. These were things I wish somebody had taught at the start beginning, but I had to learn them first hand. Here are a few things I learnt as a beginner:

• The internet is loaded with scams and schemes and a lot of hype. But there are also a lot of legitimate businesses online. Making money online is just as it is in the offline world. To do so still requires hardwork , dedication ,persistence,passion and commitment.

• There is no way you can become rich “overnight”. I used to join program after program to get a quick buck or two. This was all in vain. I was so eager to make some easy money, I forgot to take a reality check. Any truly successful online business will take time to build and grow. Are you willing to stick at it for the next 3-5 years? A very good question to ask yourself.

• Visibility is part of the game. The more visible and reliable you are, the more people will trust you. Trust is a big part of making it online. Would you spend your hard earn money with someone who is not trustworthy? It took me some time to realise and accept this fact.

• To receive you have to give. When I first started out, all I was interested in was receiving. As I got more deeply involved, I realised that doing so was setting me up for failure. You have to give your customers and readers something in order for them to return the favor. This also took some time to sink into my thick skull.

The above are just a few things you will need to know when doing business online. With these pointers, you will at least be at a better starting point than I was. Somehow I just keep thinking; what would have happen if I had known these things at the beginning?

© Nicholas Dixon

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Nicholas Dixon is a Jamaican webmaster, writer and affiliate
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