Stair Art: August 2009

Monday, August 31, 2009

Bathroom Lighting Fixtures

A house is more than just rooms. It has various living spaces where diverse activities are performed. Each living space has objects that serve functional requirements for the specific tasks performed there, as well as for aesthetic appeal. Utility objects like lighting fixtures also reflect a certain mood and create a certain ambience which complements and reflects the individuals taste and attitude, as well as the personality of the dwellers.

A bathroom is a living space where daily ablutions are carried out. People spend time in the bathroom not just to take a hurried wash. It is a place to rinse away a days tiredness and groom ones self. Proper lighting in the bathroom is as essential as in any other place. The right kind of lighting fixtures for bathroom lighting ensures one doesnt struggle to find things or look at ones self in the mirror and find a monster reflected instead.

Suitable lighting fixtures in bathrooms enable one to get the right shave for that important executive meeting or the right make-up for a date. Apart from their aesthetic significance, bathroom lighting fixtures ensure that the bulbs are held in the right position. A bathroom is a place with lots of moisture and condensed soapy deposits, and hence it is vital to choose the right kind of material for bathroom lighting fixtures.

Ideally, the light should be directed at the person and not reflected off the mirror. This can be achieved by positioning the two lighting fixtures in opposite directions so that light is reflected on the face from both sides. Lighting fixtures can also be placed on the wall directly over the sink, at a distance of at least 2 feet from the sink.

To avoid severe shadows it is best to steer clear of reflectors. Bathroom fixtures can also be used inside cabinets or on the ceiling over bathtubs or bath enclosures. The right lighting fixture is essential achieving the desired light effect and avoiding a glare or shadow.

There are various kinds of bathroom lighting fixtures. Bar lights house tiny trochees mounted on metal bars, of various designs and shape. These bars are fixed to the walls or counters. They provide for either up lighting (to allow light to gush down on mirror cabinets) or down lighting (to bounce light off the ceiling).

Certain bar lights with two to six shades can be used above double sinks. Long bar lights eliminate the requirement for separate fixtures. The lampshades can be of white frosted glass or glass which is translucent. The metal portion can be chrome-plated, polished brass, or some antique finish. Vanity bulbs are another type of bathroom lighting with rounded white glass enclosures for encasing light bulbs. These lights are used for providing a strong diffused lighting effect appropriate for close-up jobs. These lighting fixtures should be ideally placed over narrow sinks.

Wall sconces can also be used as bathroom lighting fixture. They are generally not fixed near sinks and can be put up to light closets or in a different room for a commode. Recessed lights are most suitable as bathroom lighting fixtures. These bathroom lighting fixtures give respite from deposited moisture and soapy condensations deposited on bathroom fixtures, as the actual fixtures are recessed inside the ceiling. However, their installation and wiring is expensive, as they are embedded inside the ceiling.

Lighting Fixtures provides detailed information on Lighting Fixtures, Bathroom Lighting Fixtures, Ceiling Lighting Fixtures, Outdoor Lighting Fixtures and more. Lighting Fixtures is affiliated with Outdoor Lighting.

You Are the Move You Make

One of the most powerful lessons I've learned and would like to instill in you is that you are responsible for your success. No one else is. Not your parents, your community, your government, or your friends. It's all up to you. While that may seem harsh, if you reframe it a little, it's liberating.

While it's nearly impossible to succeed without the help of others, once you embrace the idea that you are the driving force behind your own situation, you realize the only person holding you back is you.

The life you live right now is the life you have created for yourself so far. If this life is not what you want, you have to start making the decisions and taking the actions necessary to create the life you desire.

The first decision is to realize that the past doesn't define you. What has happened has happened. If you got fired, dumped, divorced, bankrupted, injured, sick, or born into a family of whackos, guess what? There are countless stories of people overcoming those same circumstances to create wonderful lives.

Look at the past as your school. This school has taught you some important lessons that you can take into the future. The key is to look back on the past without emotion. This is not always easy to do, but imagine you are kind of an experience auditor peeking into the past of a client. Your job is to analyze objectively what happened and why it happened and to extract the most positive lesson possible from the experience.

Maybe, because of self-doubt, you allowed a situation to worsen until something bad happened. Maybe you let a relationship go on for way too long or you put off making an important business call and you lost the account. What happened can't be changed, but recognizing and taking responsibility for not letting that self-doubt control you again will fortify you as you move forward in creating your new future.

If you are unhappy in your current state of life, you can come up with all kinds of excuses, but not one good reason for not creating the life you want.

When I discovered this, it was huge for me.

I was raised in a middle-income family where money was a source of constant worry and argument. My parents spent much of their time under extreme financial tension. Like most people, they were never taught how to manage money, so when they had it they spent it until they were out of control and deeply in debt.

Since happiness is a direct result of the level of control you have in your life, you can imagine the level of unhappiness in a household that was in perpetual financial turmoil.

Before I go any further, I want to make it clear that this is not by any means a condemnation of my parents, whom I love dearly. They loved me and worked very hard to provide for my sister, brothers, and me. They were simply raised in a way that was typical of the post-Depression era. Money was never discussed except to lament how little they had.

Work was described to me as something everyone "hates," and there was never any discussion of the possibilities the world offered. The attitude was that you could not control your destiny beyond deciding if you wanted to drive a truck or wait on tables. My parents and their friends were far more bowling alley than board room.

Success seemed to be reserved for people on television, who all seemed like the heartless banker from It's a Wonderful Life. The rich were people who had sold their souls for money and would throw you out on the street to keep it.

This would probably be a more predictable story if I said that I was inspired by my parents' despair and resolved never to be in that situation. That's partially true. Because money was such an issue, I developed kind of a "hippie" attitude that money was not important and the desire for material possessions was bourgeoisie. In a nutshell, I was clueless about money as well.

Remember, this was the early and mid-1970s. I bought into the idea that I was not going to be rich, but I did not agree to being miserable at my job. My martial arts training provided me with a great outlet for my self-growth. I resolved to teach martial arts for a living. Still, I had no fantasies of growing rich as a result of my teaching.

I just loved to teach and train and, as a martial artist, I was accorded a level of respect and inclusion that was very satisfying to an 18-year-old. Since I had been programmed to believe that financial success was out of my control, I chose instead to control at least how I spent my day. I figured that if I were not going to make any money, I might as well enjoy myself. I chose quality of life over financial possibility, which, as you know now, is short-term gain for long-term pain.

Since classes were at night, I slept as late as I wanted each morning and then trained all day before wandering in to the karate school at about 5 p.m. to teach. It was like being a surf bum in a gi (karate uniform). I was indeed a karate jock and it was fun, for a while.

It was not until I opened my school-almost a decade later-that I started to envision that I could be successful. At that time I began to give private lessons to a doctor, Richard Phares, whom I mentioned earlier. Dr. Phares had already been a millionaire for over 15 years by then. He was an eccentric fellow and loved to sit and talk with me about his views on the world, which included the process of wealth building.

No one had ever discussed these subjects with me before. At the time, I was riding my ten-speed bike to the school because I could not afford a car. He was driving his big car, and it was the first Mercedes I had ever been in. That was when my thinking started to change and my vision of the future began to expand.

Dr. Phares exposed me to a lifestyle of wealth and opulence that I had never dreamed of. At the time, I was getting a lot of local press because of my success with the U.S. kickboxing team in Europe, and I had a TV show, so I was pretty high profile. I was the local karate star. Though I had no money, I was an accomplished athlete who was seen on television every week. I guess that made up for my lack of net worth. Dr. Phares seemed to enjoy introducing me to his associates as his personal instructor, the "world champion black belt."

We met with his wealthy friends and went to his million-dollar home for barbecues with his family. They seemed like normal people to me, not heartless, money-hoarding villains. They donated to charities and volunteered in the community. The main difference was that they openly discussed business and business strategies.

This exposure began to reprogram my thinking with regard to money and what my potential really was. Until that point, I never thought of such a life because I had never seen it or experienced it. It is hard to create a taste for something you have never seen or felt.

It was also about this time a friend of mine came into my office and said, "You want this? It's boring." He threw me a six-cassette audio seminar by Roger Dawson, called Power Negotiating. That was the first of what must be by now thousands of audio and video programs I've learned from. Learning methods of business and how to succeed through these audio programs while expanding my perspective through Dr. Phares' world accelerated my reprogramming and created a strong desire to grow as a person, a teacher, and a businessman.

I tell you this because it was so powerful for me that I can only hope it is as powerful for you. In order to change your outer world, you must change your inner world. I had to change my programming and references in order to begin the process of changing my reality.

By immersing myself in study and seeking out people who had been there already, I began to destroy my self-doubt. I learned how to speak, to sell, to have a conversation, to negotiate, and to succeed.

I began to realize that I was 100 percent responsible for reaching the level of success I desired. I realized that even though Dr. Phares could show me how the rich live and Brian Tracy could teach me how to get there, only I could make it happen. If it's to be it's up to me became my mantra.

I started to develop a "prosperity consciousness." This is a mindset, or heightened awareness, of the great possibilities the world presents. In this realm, the world became a huge menu of opportunities. The opportunities had always been there, but I couldn't see them before. My programming while growing up led me to "poverty consciousness"-the mindset that you will always struggle for money and privilege. "We can't afford that" was the mantra of my parents.

I knew it would be a long, tough road and that no one was going to do it for me. As daunting a task as that was, I also began to realize that, for the first time, I was talking to myself as though it could actually happen. To think that I could actually burst out of the chains of mediocrity and become a success was so radical a thought that it shot right through me.

Once I allowed myself to conceptualize that I could be a success and then followed that with the conscious decision to go for it, my life changed. My outer world immediately began to evolve into a world of opportunities that I had not seen before. It was as though I had been seeing the world in black-and-white, and suddenly the color was switched on. This is the power of making the decision to be a success and then taking full responsibility for achieving it.

The very important truth you must face is that only you can control you. You cannot control the economy or other people or how you were raised. You can only control you. If you do not like what you see in the mirror, you cannot break the mirror to change what you see. You have to change what the mirror reflects. You have to change from the inside out. This is an important realization in transforming your beliefs, which is a critical step in reducing and then eliminating self-doubt.

This is also why, in the first year of a martial arts student's training my emphasis in their training is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical. I have to change how they see their potential to be a black belt before I can physically train them for black belt. Our life changes, too, must start with how we think. We must change our internal programming.

Chapter Exercise

What circumstances from your past are defining you now? (Loss of job, divorce, injury, dysfunctional family?)

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Has anyone else ever triumphed over the same kind of circumstances?

________________________________________________________________

In your role as an experience auditor peeking into your own past, analyze it without emotion and extract the most positive lesson possible.

________________________________________________________________

Name some positive people you could associate with who would expand your perspective on life and your future.

________________________________________________________________

John Graden is a fun, exciting, and inspirational speaker, author, and trainer.

A martial arts master teachers, he is the author of five books including The Impostor Syndrome: How to Replace Self-Doubt with Self-Confidence and Train Your Brain for Success, Mr. Graden has been profiled by hundreds of international publications including over 20 magazine cover stories and a comprehensive profile in the Wall Street Journal.

Presentations include: The Impostor Syndrome, Black Belt Leadership, The Secret to Self Confidence, and How to Create a Life Instead of Making a Living, John has taught his proven and unique principles of success to thousands of people on three continents since 1987.

From keynote presentations for thousands to one-on-one coaching sessions, John Graden is a dynamic speaker, teacher, and media personality who brings passion and entertainment to his presentations.

http://www.JohnGraden.com

http://www.JohnGradenTV.com

Handy Man Talents - Remodeling Tips

Do you pride your self as a competent handy man? Lets face it, there are many women who just love guys who can turn their hand to just about anything around the house. But it's not enough to be "just" a handy man, to be a well rounded in demand handy man you need to develop many different sets of skills.

Some people just like to do small handy jobs using timber, perhaps doing repairs to door jambs - window sashes & frames or repair a few rotten floorboards, and believe it or not the vast army of people working as handy men never seem to run out of work.

Perhaps instead of promoting your services as an all round handy man, you could specialise and concentrate your skills in certain areas, such as woodwork repair - fence repairs - household utensil repairs - garden furniture repairs - garden equipment & tool repair, there is an almost endless list that could be compiled in the general handy man arena.

But just imagine if you made a special effort and went a little further
than the average handy man does with his skills, and included special metal craft skills that placed you into a position that few other people were able to offer in your area, now wouldn't that give you a competitive advantage.

Tools - equipment & other things break all of the time around a house, the simple solution is to simply throw broken items out, and that is what most people do, and one of the major reasons why so much stuff ends up in landfill refuse dumps. Many of these broken items could easily be repaired and put back into service once more, people will save money and landfills will end up with a lot less material & things being dumped.

Metal repair skills are not difficult to learn, many trade colleges offer short courses on equipment - tool maintenance & repairs. If you are an enterprising handy man there's a good chance you already have the right kind of skills to succeed. You don't need a large inventory of tools either, a mid size electric arc welder, a sturdy bench fitted with a 4" vice, plus a hacksaw, a pedestal drill press and several other metal working tools and you are ready to go.

The piece De resistance of metal craft skills is when you have learnt and understand the art of metal casting, this is where you melt aluminium or bronze and pour the metal into a pre-made sand mould. Almost any shape can be made, castings made in the hobby workshop can range in weight from 1oz to several pounds or KG. All kinds of knobs, handles, levers, rods and flat shapes such as nameplates and plaques can be made with some practice.

There is an acute world wide shortage of people with practical skills and
know how to rebuild - repair and maintain, perhaps this is the kind of work that you would like to do either full time or part time. You only have to look in the newspaper classifieds to see that many people make a reasonable living rebuilding and repairing all manner of things.

Col Croucher

Need content? You may use this article at your website, or in your newsletter. The only requirement is inclusion of the following sentence - Article by Col Croucher of http://www.myhomefoundry.com - the definitive source for hobby metal casters of all ages. While at the web site you can download a free ebook to learn about, & understand hobby metal craft.

When We Choose Misery Over Happiness

I am not one to feel sorry for most people. They seem to have a unique ability to cause themselves the most damage during certain parts of their lives. I have met some pretty self destructive people in my life. Being raised by a mother that lived in misery and love.

My mother had a difficult childhood. It seemed as if every corner she turned there was a obstacle either right in front of here or waiting just around the corner. Her father died when she was 12 year old. He was a farm laborer and didn't make much money. In other words they were poor...... She got sent to live with a few foster families and according to her she was molested by one of the fathers she lived with.

Soon her older sister invited her to live with her. My aunt was married to the owner of a pottery business and had 2 children about 10 years younger than my mother. My aunt soon realized she had a live in baby sitter that allowed her to stay out drinking most of the day.

My Uncle was what you would call a drunk back then, now we call these people alcoholics. Well any way I think you are starting to get a picture of my mothers life up to this point. It is probably safe to assume that this isn't the ideal life for a young woman.

The next event to happen in my moms life was for my uncle to fall in the shower one night after tying one on that night. He died soon after but my aunt seemed to make a another good choice and ended up marring the owner of the bar that they spent most of their time in.
The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. Allan K. Chalmers

By this time my mom was in High School and met my future father. It wasn't exactly a marriage made in heaven. My dad was always an easy going man. He seemed to let most stuff go in one ear and out the other.

As you guessed it they had a few children. Nice one Dad and Mom. According to the books I have read on Angelic beings. People that believe in the after life and angels. They tell me I had a choice and was able to choose my parents....... What was I thinking...... I should have choose someone with some money and a couple of parents that were deeply in love .

How did I end up here in this situation.

I ended up loving my parents like most of us. They seemed to be doing the best that they could possibly do raising me, my bother and my sister. My mom and dad ended up getting a divorce and I went to live with my father.

My Father is remarried to a wonderful woman that seems to bring him a lot of happiness.
I haven't seen my mother for a while now. She lives with a life of excuses and misery. Her childhood was not the greatest but that doesn't give her the right to bring misery into other peoples lives. She has made a conscious choice to live what seems to be a painful life. Maybe her choices in life have made me choose happiness over misery.

I have always wondered what it is that motivates someone to live a life of true unhappiness when it takes the same amount of energy to live a life of joy. Life is meant to be full of joy and happiness so start today by making the right choices to live a fulfilling life of happiness.

If you are reading this and can't make up your mind what kind of life you truly want to live visit me at http://live.spiritualideas.com/ . Change your thinking and change your life.

Greg Vanden Berge will help you create a new approach to life and discover talents you never knew you had. We can help you get the most out of yourself all the time. Start developing your innate strengths and abilities to start enriching your life TODAY !

Nothing Will Be Impossible

Special Needs Bathrooms

For most of United Kingdom's history, bathrooms were designed and built to simply be functional and they were built the same way. This was not an issue for the majority of the United Kingdom's population, but for people with special needs, the "standard" in bathroom designs and fixtures proved difficult and frustrating. The truth is that people who have special needs often have a difficult time in bathrooms that have been built for people who do not have special needs.

Bathroom designers and builders understand that people with special needs have different requirements than those who do not. They design bathrooms specifically for people with special needs. These designers understand that people with special needs require bathroom fixtures that can hold a person's body weight. They understand that things need to be higher or lower and more accommodating than bathrooms that are built form before function.

Usually a bathroom that is constructed for a client with special needs will feature a stand alone sink, a toilet that has a wider seat and is either higher than usual or lower than usual (depending on the client's needs) to accommodate people who are shorter or people who have trouble bending or people who need to transfer from a wheel chair to the toilet (or another fixture).

A bathroom built for a special needs person will usually feature a shower stall with a seat that is separately contained. If there is a bath tub, the bath tub is usually equipped with jets and is raised up off of the floor to accommodate the transfer from a standing position to a sitting position or from a chair into the bath tub itself.

Lastly, the bathroom that has been constructed for a person with special needs will be built with additional support beams and bars located around and throughout the bathroom. These bars are usually bolted to the walls around the individual bathroom features. These bars are built to aid in the transfer of the person with special needs from one location to another. The bars are usually installed next to the toilet, the sinks and the bathtub and shower areas. These bars are sturdy and are meant to hold a person's entire body weight.

It is important to remember, when putting together a bathroom for someone with special needs that function is more important than form. The bathroom needs to have proper support for a person who has trouble getting from one place to another and for people who might not be very good at holding him or herself up. Softer corners are always a good idea for special needs people as are bathroom elements have been designed to hold a person's body weight.

When designing a bathroom for a person with special needs a good rule of thumb for the designer is to follow is "function before form."

Tal Potishman, editor of Heating Central, writes articles about efficient heating, plumbers, Dartford boiler, underfloor heating and solar thermal. He specializes in helping save money by advising on efficient heating.

Feng Shui and Symbols - What You Have in Your House Says a Lot About You

What does a broken statue of a rooster have to do with Feng Shui? Feng Shui teaches us that everything in our house is a reflection of what is in our mind. Symbolically speaking, your house and the things in it reflects your thoughts, feelings, and spirit.

So let's get back to that rooster. One of my clients had recently separated from her husband. I noticed that a statue of a large bird was directly facing her bed, so it was probably the first thing she saw when getting up in the morning. Upon closer examination, I noticed two things; first, one of the legs had previously been broken and was wrapped in what appeared to be a cast. Second, I realized that it was not a chicken; it was a rooster. Unfortunately, the coxcomb on the top of the head had broken off, probably in the same fall that broke the leg of the statue.

I examined this unfortunate art piece for a moment and then said to my client, "Do you realize that the first thing you see in the morning is a broken cock?"

After I picked her up from the floor (she was laughing so much she just collapsed), she gasped out, "You have no idea of how perfect that observation is." Not wanting to really know much more, I suggested we send out the broken rooster for repair. We then talked about what she really wanted to see first thing in the morning; it was her flute and music and a picture of her daughter.

Another client was having a hard time keeping relationships with men going. Visiting her apartment was like seeing a shrine to her daughter. Everywhere was a mother/daughter photograph. It felt like she was already in a relationship and there was no room for any other one to grow.

Everything that you choose to surround yourself with has symbolic meaning and reflects something about your life. Whether intentional or not, all those objects, pictures, photographs, and pieces of furniture resonate with information about you. Take a look around at your house. What is the first thing you see when you enter your home? When you get up in the morning? When you sit down to eat? Do those objects support you in living your best life? Observe what you have around you and then experiment. See how you feel swapping out the images that surround you for other ones that are a better reflection of who you are and where you want to go. I've seen this simple action do amazing things to improve people's lives.

Interested in learning more about Feng Shui and ways to improve the energy in your home or office? Get great tips and motivating messages by subscribing to the Empty Your Nest newsletter at http://www.emptyyournest.com

Problems While You Are Building With Contractors

Sometimes as contractors we get in a hurry and we just want to finish the job. We told the homeowner we would be done in three months, at the same time the homeowner keeps adding new work to the list.

I ran into a problem like this on one job where the contractor was in a hurry to finish the flooring and chose to go right over the existing floor that was out of level. He told the homeowner he didn't have time to repair that section of the floor. He was installing half-inch plywood over 1 x 6 diagonal floor sheeting to strengthen up the floor.

This floor was going to require quite a bit of attention from the contractor and his crew. The homeowner should have hired another contractor to repair the floor while the original contractor finished the house remodel. When your contractor gives you that much grief about any work, you need to start thinking about hiring another contractor or at least finding one to complete the task your original contractor has no interest in.

I felt sorry for the homeowner because this was not what he wanted and he was upset with the contractor but the job was done. This is my warning to any contractor, handyman or home repair specialists. When installing a new plywood floor over an existing floor to strengthen it up, use some common sense and repair the floor correctly or don't do the job at all.

I wrote this article for contractors to have a little more sympathy for the homeowners you are working for because sometimes they can't see the whole picture like you can. I also wrote this article for homeowners to listen to your contractor carefully when he is explaining a potential problem that you can't visualize further down the road. Any contractor with over 15 years experience remodeling homes has a pretty good idea what's going to happen next.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more building stairs books and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

When We Choose Misery Over Happiness

How did I end up here in this situation.

If you are reading this and can't make up your mind what kind of life you truly want to live visit me at http://live.spiritualideas.com/ . Change your thinking and change your life.

Questions To Ask Your Pastor

Changing Habits Can Change Your Life - Goal Setting

Creating super habits are easier than you could ever imagine. Most people have something they would like to change in their lives. If you ask anyone, they are usually able to answer this question, "If you could change anything about yourself, what would you change." All the self help and personal development programs and books available today are full of useful information that nobody seems to take advantage of. You've seen the TV commercials and listen to other people tell their stories, about how they lost weight.

Are you one of those skeptics that find these stories hard to believe. Do you think it's possible to create a life changing habit within 30 days? If you don't think it's possible, have you ever tried to change something about yourself you don't like.

If you haven't tried, how do you know it's impossible. If you have tried to create change in your life, did you quit, did you quit shortly after you started. This is often what most people do. They either quit before they start and never even get started, or they quit within a short period of time after they started. Usually these people have an excuse, most of the time their excuse is quite simply, it was harder than I thought.

Creating super habits in 30 days is possible and you don't have to be an over achiever to accomplish this goal. Creating these habits will require some effort on your part but the rewards most of the time are worth the effort.

I challenge you to change something about yourself you don't like within the next 30 days.

Go to the next step for more information.

Finding Something You Don't like about Yourself

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development.

Greg is currently working on a self help video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion.

Add Value to Your Home - Home Tips

Basement bathrooms are possible, but be prepared for a sizable project.

Basement bathrooms can be installed in the same manner as any other bathroom with a few wrinkles. Since there are no windows, although an exhaust fan is usually a good idea to handle the moisture and special arrangement may be needed if your basement bathroom is below the level of the utility lines.

Basement bathrooms can be a real pain in the neck without the proper insulation. Let's just say that the toilets can get really cold! Basement bathrooms are possible, but be prepared for a sizable project. Basement bathrooms tend to be large, busy places with a dozen or more stalls and no place for your partner to hide. Bathrooms on upper floors tend to have less traffic. Basement bathrooms can be a real source of mold and mildew buildup. Clean the bathroom regularly and properly ventilate the room so the moisture doesn't have a chance to collect.

Suspended tile basement ceilings are easier to install, surprisingly cost-effective, and their removable tiles allow continued access to HVAC ducts, plumbing and wiring. Easy access to these important systems in your basement ceiling will be important over the years. A suspended ceiling is another option, especially if you need access to shut offs such as gas and water valves and if you can install this under pipes and have your 763 finish height.

A bathroom wall that won't encourage mold and mildew, or be damaged by condensation, is hard. Because concrete in contact with the ground is always cool, it can become a condensing surface for water vapor in the warm air escaping from a finished basement bathroom.

Installing tiles is a long, tedious, and involved project. After installation, they will need to sit for at least two days without being used in order to seal correctly on to the floor. Installing a basement bathroom is a great idea, and it pays back for itself by 80% or more when the home is sold.

DiCicco Building Company has been a Macomb Township Home Remodeling Contractor for over 20 years. We are also leaders in Bathroom Remodeling along with being an award winning custom residential home builder. We also specialize in Finished Basements and home additions.

Illuminated Bathroom Mirrors - Choosing the Best For Your Home

If the wide range of illuminated bathroom mirrors in the market is confusing the hell out of you, then we can help you. Given below are some reasons why people all over the world love light up mirrors. You can also read some tips on choosing the right kind of restroom mirrors for your homes in this article.

Benefits Of Illuminated Mirrors

The first reason why most people buy these mirrors is because these mirrors are extremely easy to use.

The mirror light can be lit when you are in a hurry and need to put on some makeup or even when you need to shave. This light acts as an activity light just like a reading lamp does for your study table.

The bathroom mirror light lets you enjoy some soft lighting while you take a relaxing shower. This way you needn't use harsh overhead lights.

It provides dedicated light to the restroom mirror besides providing some ambient lighting for the entire bathroom.

Lastly, these mirrors add style to the entire room.

Now that you are aware why these mirrors are such a hit, let us go on a understand how to choose the right kind of mirror.

How To Choose The Mirror?

Be very sure of the shape and the size of the mirror. It should blend with the style and the color scheme of your restroom

Ensure that your lavatory wall is spacious enough to carry the kind of bathroom wall mirrors you select. For example: if you go for a wall mirror that comes with a cabinet, it shouldn't look too large on the wall.

The wiring too has to be taken care of. So if you are choosing illuminated lavatory mirrors with integrated lighting then have them installed properly.

You can order your restroom mirror online, as well. Manufacturers guarantee safe delivery and you are able to select from a much wider range of illuminated bathroom mirrors, this way.

Visit CORE online to get free access to more information on buying illuminated bathroom mirrors.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Goal Achieving - The Secret Behind the Secret

It's 2009!...Undoubtedly, a year of change for the nation and the world . . .

The question is: Will it be a year of change for YOU?...If so, what kind of change?

Some of us would like to think that in order for us to be happy, things around us have to get better first. And, while it certainly looks so on the surface, let's talk about our role in changing our world.

Have you ever taken a moment before you turn on the TV or Talk News to feel the change in your body's stress level before and after you turned on the news? If you have, I'd bet you felt more stressed after turning it on. The reason is this: We are all problem solvers by nature - and, sitting in our homes or anywhere else, we have no control over what happens Nationally or Globally, outside of writing an email or letter to our state representative or congress person. And even then, it is out of our control what they do beyond that. We've voiced our opinion, we must now move on. In reality, there are many things we cannot change -- like everybody else in the U.S. or the world -- to fit our vision of how things should be -- and, subconsciously, the frustration of that causes us stress.

The good news is (and this may sound too simple at first) we have the greatest impact on the nation and the world by focusing on what we do at home. Although it may not seem like much, it is and I'll explain why in a minute - In order to change the world, we must first change the things we do have control over, and the closest thing to us is ourselves.

Can we change the world by changing ourselves first?

Absolutely. Our thoughts, our behavior...that little impact we make - our little 'footprint' if you will - and the impact our little changes have in our own lives influence those around us and this -- in turn - we do change the world. By changing a thought, an attitude and behavior in yourself first, you'll see changes on a very small scale initially -- in you! Over time, you'll notice the change that your new behavior and attitudes have on someone else and then someone else, and so on.

How does that work? It works like this: Have you ever seen a ripple in a pond? If you haven't, then go ahead and throw a stone or pebble into a quiet, still tub or body of water and watch what happens. The reaction the water has to the stone or pebble tossed into it is called a "ripple effect." If we throw a small stone gently into the water, the water ripples gently. If it is a large body of water, you'll notice the ripples continue going out and out and out farther and farther and until eventually they get so large and so small you can't see them. Although you cannot see the ripples any longer, the impact is still there. That is basically how we impact the world. The water represents our world and the pebble represents the thought we throw into it. No matter how hard you try, you cannot start with the large ripples. We can only get the result of large ripples by first creating the small --

Just as ripples caused by a pebble being tossed in water can never be rescinded, the ripples we send out into our world can never be retracted...What ripples do you want to be sending out into the world today?

We've all heard the adage, "Change starts at home" and "Charity begins at home." Now you can see how it absolutely does. You may ask, "How can I begin change?"...The same way you eat an elephant, one bite at a time!"

Let me ask you a question: What do you want the world to look like at this time next year? Kinder? Happier? More understanding? More honest? Richer? More compassionate? Then ask yourself: What am I doing in my own life today to make my own life kinder, happier, more understanding, more honest, richer, and more compassionate?

You'll see as the thoughts and actions in your own life change, it 'ripples' in your family and friends, and as your family and friends are influenced by your example they may begin to change, and if they don't, you may decide to spend more time with people who are open to changing previous attitudes and behaviors in order to change your world. You want to spend more time with the kind of people that move you closer to your desired life, so that your life can evolve into everything you want it to be. As you begin to change yourself, by changing your thoughts and actions, you influence your environment, your home, your work, your community and so on. With continued progress in the direction of your desire, your 'ripples' get larger and larger until you literally see your world change.

Ask yourself: "What is it I want? And, what do I intend to do today to make positive changes in my life so that I begin to create the world I want?"

And, "What do I want" can be a difficult question to answer. Most of us think in terms of things we don't want. Ask yourself, if I don't want this...why? and, if I don't want that . . .why? Your answer will likely include or lead you to what you DO want. Hopefully, one of your intentions is to change this way of thinking about what you don't want into what you do want!

The power of the mind is amazing. You can literally create and have anything you want when you become a master at controlling your thoughts. Did you know we are the only animals on the planet that can do that? We have this amazing gift and yet somehow manage to go most of our lives without being aware of it.

Here's an example of how the power of your mind can change your life: Have you ever written down your goals at the beginning of the year, looked back at them at the end of the year and noticed that most if not all of them were accomplished without you even thinking about them again? And, of those that were not accomplished - had you been encouraged to see that steps had been made toward their accomplishment? Or, maybe you decided one day you wanted something and you got it so fast you were shocked? Or you thought about someone then the phone rang and it was them! This is a perfect example of the power of our mind - and of the power of our thoughts. So, when is a good time to test this power?

There is no time better than now!

Winter time is a perfect time to reflect on how things went last year and decide what you'd like to change in your life this year. This is a perfect time to think about, really think about, the kind of life you want and write down your desires and goals for this year on paper.

There are 347 or so days left in 2009. What are you going to be doing for the next 347 days to move you toward having the life you want? 347 days from now, do you want to have the same life as you have today or would you like a different life? What does that different life look like? Visualize it. Feel how it would feel to have gotten that accomplished. Now, write it down! Write down every detail of the picture of the desired life you would like to have 347 days from now.

Now imagine if you took one new step every day toward creating a piece of that picture! If you did one thing a day for your health, beginning with the way you think about it, at the end of the year you'd be healthier than you are today because you made 347 actions toward better health. If you did one thing a day toward improving relationships, your relationships would be 347 steps closer to being reciprocal, honest, trusting, loving, and all the other characteristics you want to see in your relationships. If you read a chapter a day, you would have read 347 chapters, which is more than 20 books by the end of the year! The list is endless. Will this have an impact on your life? Will your life be different next year if you take these steps? Of course it will!

But what happens if you do nothing because you don't believe you can, so you don't change your thoughts or begin to take steps (even tiny ones) today? That's right. Nothing.

It's not a coincidence. It's Law. Just as Sir Isaac Newton discovered the Law of Gravity by analyzing the forces at work when sitting under the apple tree, we can respect the fact that there might be other Laws at play here too. Laws that, just like gravity, we do not see and cannot touch, but they are here all the same. The movie, "The Secret" lays out pretty well the power of the Law of Attraction. But another one of those Laws is the Law of Reciprocation. It states that what you put out, you get back. Put out a little effort, get little return. Put out a lot of effort, get greater returns. Put out no effort, get no return. Put out positive efforts, get positive returns. Put out negative efforts, get negative returns. Give love, get love. That is the greatest lesson of all. If you would like more love from your family, give more love to them. Be kind. Be supportive. Encourage them to grow. Do all the things you would want someone who loved you to do for you if you were in their shoes. The Law of Reciprocation is the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Another way of saying it is: Give away what you want the most. Respect, love, appreciation...

Always remember there's one thing you can control and that is you. Only you control your thoughts and your actions today. You can make those thoughts and actions congruent with the kind of life you want and you can have it. You do not have control over other people. You may have influence, but you have no control. They have free will just like you. They will discover their power to when they become aware and begin to test it and trust they have it.

Make a decision about what you want and then act on it. Take at least one step each day - make a phone call, ask someone for information, set an appointment, or spend 20 minutes focusing on something you desire, asking yourself, "If I were to have that by December 31, 2009, what could I do today to move myself closer to it." I guarantee that if you did that and took action on whatever answer came to mind, by December 31, 1009 you could be happier, have less stress, be healthier, have more money and better relationships than you do now!

You can accomplish whatever you want, that is, if you do five things: DESIRE it, ASK for it, BELIEVE that you can have it and then follow that belief and ACT on it and, most importantly, stay FOCUSED on it!

My favorite book says, "God helps those who help themselves." We help ourselves by taking action toward the life we ask our higher source or God to provide. Don't expect your goal to fall into your lap if you aren't willing to take action toward it.

Good intentions are not actions. You've heard what they say, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." You must ACT. This philosophy is congruent with Newton's Law of Motion. Whether you think in terms of the scientific or philosophical, the message is the same: Put your desires into motion by taking steps toward them. In other words, an intention with action charges the intention and brings the intended result about.

Some people might get hung up on deciding on what their goals should be. If you haven't a lot of experience setting and achieving goals, the concept can be challenging. The worst thing is when people get stuck and therefore do nothing. I don't want that to be you!!

When I was 19, the concept of a long term goal was totally foreign to me. Now, it is crystal clear. When I was 19, I could set a goal for this week, this month and even this year, but had difficulty setting a goal for what I wanted 5 or 10 years down the road. When I was 22 years old however, the lightbulb came on, I decided I wanted to own my own business someday...Not knowing yet how to do that, I set out to gain the knowledge and experience I needed to increase my chances of success and set a date.

To envision a long term goal can seem illusive, yet to others it seems simple. Why is that? I'll tell you why. If we have difficulty envisioning long term goals it's because we have no practice getting good at accomplishing our short term goals! We need first to get good at accomplishing short term goals to graduate beyond the short term to the long term. All it takes is awareness, which you are getting now, and practice!

That reminds me of the guy who stopped a concert violinist in New York for directions. He said, "Excuse me. How do I get to Carnegie Hall?" The musician replied, "Practice!"

Long term goals can seem illusive if we haven't developed the ability to achieve short term goals through practice.

Understanding how to make and achieve long term goals without first understanding short and mid-term goals can be like trying to run before first knowing how to stand or even walk -- or trying to graduate High School without going through Elementary School. I suppose if I say it can't be done, someone will sure enough do it, but it is a tough row to hoe. Our mind doesn't work that way. It's hard to grasp concepts we have no foundation for. We learned to walk by practicing getting up. We practiced getting up and began standing. We got better at balancing and standing and began taking steps. Soon we began walking -- with practice. By practicing at achieving the smaller goals, we gain trust in the process, we get better at achieving them and soon we know how to set and achieve larger and larger ones.

As you practice this, you'll notice a funny thing about the mind. That is that as you start moving toward you're the picture of the life you want to create, that life starts moving toward you. It's almost as if the world realigns itself to bring into your focus the things you need to accomplish your goal. The truth is, it was always there, waiting for you to desire it and seek it out by taking action.

Have you noticed how after you buy a new car, suddenly you notice how many of that particular car is on the road? That is an example of awareness. Once you achieve something, even something as simple as a car, you gain a heightened awareness of it. You are aware of this car more intimately now because you own it. And perhaps even begin the action to buy a nicer car soon after by creating a new thought! That's how goals work.

Start small. Build trust and awareness in the process. Eventually, you will become an expert at grasping the smaller achievements and move toward creating the life you want in the long term.

If you're still not convinced this is how your life is designed to work, think about all the stuff in the world: electricity, cars, music, clothing, paper, furniture...all the stuff you can think of that you use and love every day. All that stuff began with a thought and a desire by someone, another human like you, to create it.

When Benjamin Franklin had the thought of putting the key on the string in the thunder storm and acted on it, electricity was discovered. All the elements to create electricity had always existed, but it took Ben to first have the thought, the desire and belief that it was possible and then to stay focused and take action on the thought to achieve it. He tried many things and each time, with practice and action, he became more aware of the solution. The same elements he used to discover electricity were certainly present before that moment, but it took Ben Franklin to have the thought and take action on it to bring it about. The elements to create electricity have been here all along -- even in the cave man days, but cave men had not evolved to the point they needed to produce electricity. They had more basic needs -- like a need for fire to cook food and a wheel to carry the day's catch. Those were their 'discoveries.' Virtually all the earlier creations and discoveries have been expanded over the years to create the 'things' we enjoy today - gas fireplaces, furnaces, automobiles...the list goes on. But everything, no matter what it is, that you need to create your dream is already here, waiting for you to discover it. You only have to have the thought and take action on it.

I don't want you to worry about how you are going to achieve your goal, just know that everything you need, you will have available to you as you gain the awareness to use it. I'm sure Ben Franklin had no idea how to create electricity, but he kept focusing on his thought, maintained his desire, stayed curious about it and after many tries, the 'how' was revealed that one rainy night.

Thought is where all things that created and all goals achieved begin.

Can the mind really do that? Yes! We have a couple of well-known references to prove it. My favorite book says, "Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." It also says, "Ask and ye shall receive." There are no caveats. No small print. Just, "Ask, and you shall receive." This same book also assures us that we are created in the image of our creator. Doesn't this at least imply that we might also have an ability to create something? Yes. It does. Think about it -- if there was no basic truth to these quotes, why would they have survived 2000 years?

So decide what you want and Ask for it. And don't forget the important elements of Desire, Belief, Action and Focus.

Focus is important. Focus is your mind's GPS. Focus doesn't necessarily accelerate the time it takes to reach your goals. Because the time is what it is. At maximum focus the time it takes to accomplish something is much less than with partial or minimum focus. Your level of focused action determines how fast you reach your goal. There are laws at play here too. Just know that the better you are at focusing the faster you can achieve your goals. Make sure you stay focused so that your actions are taking the shortest route possible to take you where you want to go. If you find you're doing something that does not move you closer to your goal, stop and refocus. Here's why:

Imagine taking a 355 mile trip from San Diego to Phoenix. You set the GPS to find the shortest route. The trip takes 6 hours by car going the speed limit. You begin to drive according to the GPS instructions. If you continue to drive according to the GPS, you'll reach Phoenix in 6 hours. But if you ignore the GPS and instead take several exits along the way, or take the 'scenic route' though the Grand Canyon how long would it take? Or what if you reached Interstate 10 and decided to go North to Palm Springs for the Winter instead? It could take days, weeks or months instead of hours to reach your goal, depending on how many side trips you take and how long you ignore the GPS! Now, it is OK to change your goal, but if your goal is still to get to Phoenix, do you see how much longer it will take you to get there because you took all those detours? A GPS is to a road trip what focus is to achieving your goals. You'll get there faster if you stay focused. It will take longer, or perhaps never, if you don't.

As the Nike slogan goes, "Just Do It!"

Try it. Go ahead and dream. Dream about the life you would like to have 347 days from now. Write it down. Don't worry about the how. The how will come once to decide on what you want, fuel it with your desire and belief that you can have it, stay focused on it and begin taking steps toward it each day. Maintain focus on the life you want 347 days from now and you'll be surprised how your world changes!

Teresa Myers
Sales and Life Success Consultant
http://www.infoforsuccess.com

How to Get an Extra Room Without Extending

Want an extra bedroom but can't extend? You may already have all the space you need.

Creating a new room from the space you already have can be a low-fuss way to make your home more practical - or more luxurious. Some of the most popular additions include another bedroom, an en suite, utility or dressing room.

You could even increase the value of your house, too!

The projects and permissions

First you need to check if you have enough space. There are no official guidelines to the minimum size of a room, but you need to be practical. For an en suite shower room, you'll need at least 180 cm x 80 cm.

What's involved?

If your original room is big enough, you can divide it into two by putting up a partition wall made up of plasterboard nailed to both sides of a wood frame and skimmed with plaster. Or you can carve out a space from two rooms to create a room in between. Before you knock down any walls, you'll need to call in a structural engineer to check if they are load bearing.

What permission do I need?

Contact your local building control department to ensure that your work meets safety regulations. If you live in a conservation area, a listed building, or need a window fitted to an external wall, you'll probably need planning permission, too. Check with your local council.

Can I do it myself?

A competent DIYer could add a partition wall - check out ultimatehandyman for advice. For most jobs you'll need to call in the professionals.

Time and costs

How long will it take?

If you're just dividing one room by putting up a partition wall it should be complete within a week. This assumes all the trades (builder, electrician, etc.) dovetail with the next. To create an en suite, add three more days to fit and tile.

How much will it cost?

Prices start about 500 to add a partition wall. For a finished en suite excluding sanitary ware expect to pay around 5,000. If you need planning permission or an architect, this will add several hundred pounds of fees

Top rooms to add

Bedroom

Adding a new bedroom will make your house more attractive to buyers but avoid making a double into a single. Also, the new room you create should be able to fit at least a single bed and bedside table.

Utility room

Using part of your kitchen to create a separate utility room is a good idea as long as your kitchen is left with at least a 3m run of cupboards and worktops.

Dressing room

This is a luxury and should only really be considered if you already have an en suite and four bedrooms - buyers would rather have an extra bedroom.

You can find more information on interior design and interior design ideas at house to home, helping you create a look you'll love

Advantages of Framing With Steel Studs

I have heard all sorts of stories over the years of the advantages in framing with steel versus wood studs. One time I even heard you could build an entire house with the amount of recycled steel from a large automobile such as a Cadillac. I find this hard to believe unless you're building a very small home.

My personal favorite for framing with steel studs is that they are extremely straight. I have built nonbearing partition walls using 12 foot 3 1/2 inch wide steel studs and after the drywall you can lay an 8 foot level to check it for straightness on the wall with amazing results.

If you use 3 1/2 inch wide steel studs with 5/8 of an inch drywall you will get an extremely durable and sturdy wall. Framing was steel studs is common in office renovations or remodeling. Most of the steel stud framing is done via the drywall contractors.

Steel studs and termites do not mix. You'll never have to worry about these little buggers or other uninvited house pests damaging your walls.

Over the years I have heard stories that steel framed buildings are earthquake and fire proof. They might be more resistant to fire than wood but keep in mind when metal is hot enough it will bend and warp making it unusable.

When I hear people talking about a fireproof building built with metal framing components my first thought is all of the other materials used in building the house that are not fire resistant. Don't get a false illusion when buying a house framed with steel studs and think it is 100% fire proof.

As far as steel framed buildings being earthquake proof this is another story. I really can't comment too much on earthquake damage to a steel building. The problem with earthquakes is they seem to create fires. So even if you're building does survive an earthquake it could get damaged by a fire in the area.

I have framed more wood homes than steel homes over the years and my steel stud construction is limited to nonbearing partition walls usually located in office buildings. I love framing with metal because of its light weight and ease of construction.

I still love framing with wood. There is something about what framing that I have always loved and always will.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as

well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more Building and Remodeling Library and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Visit us and get more information on House Framing Ideas

Are Your Prayers Being Answered

Remodeling Your Bathroom For Your Health

You might be cleaning your bathroom on a regular basis, scrubbing the bathroom tiles and the toilet bowl, as well as wiping down the shower and changing the towels regularly, but are you doing enough? The motivation for contemporary bathroom might not be about creating a modern style, but rather making sure that your bathroom is clean and healthy to use. In order to keep you and your family safe, here are some bathroom remodeling tips you need to use.

What is lurking in your bathroom?

One of the biggest problems in the bathroom is bacteria and this makes sense given the fact that you use the bathroom for germ filled activities, using the toilet and cleaning off your body. However, these bacteria do not normally cause problems for healthy adults when you clean regularly. If you have someone in your home that might be more sensitive to these kinds of germs, you can start a contemporary bathroom remodeling project that includes surfaces that are easier to clean, i.e. flat surfaces and metals, so that germs cannot congregate. Black mold can be much trickier to find, residing in the walls and underneath bathroom tiles, so there is more work to be done for that kind of grime.

Battling mold with a remodel

When you suspect that you have mold in your bathroom, the first thing you will want to do is call in someone to test your speculation. A mold testing professional will come out to your house to see just how many spores are in your bathroom and whether or not you need to hire someone to remove the mold or you can remove it yourself. If you are able to remove it yourself, you will want to get rid of all of the items that are infested with the mold, fixtures, wall pieces, cabinets, bathroom tiles, etc. This will get your bathroom off to a clean start. If you cannot remove a particular item, you can clean it down with a bleach solution or as recommended by the tester or other professional. In this remodel, you will also want to install a high quality bathroom fan that will keep the air from being moist and allowing mold to grow in these conditions.

Other tips for remodeling for health

Those with allergies will need certain help from your contemporary bathroom remodeling project. Those with allergies to dust and mold will need the bathroom to be easy to clean. Surfaces need to be flat and smooth, without any cracks or crevices that might harbor dirt or allergens. If you currently have bathroom tiles, these will probably need to be removed and replaced with a flat tiling setup. Those with immune system problems will need surfaces to be made from anti-bacterial materials, which are expensive, but worth the additional costs. The biggest concern is simply the regular use of a good, high quality bathroom fan. This fan should be used during any showers or baths and then be run for at least thirty minutes after the bath has ended. The fan should be cleaned on a monthly basis, if not more regularly. You might also want to look into HEPA air filters for your bathroom, if severe allergies are an issue.

Your bathroom is always going to be a popular room in your house, but when you plan a contemporary bathroom remodeling project with health in mind, it will be the safest room in the house as well.

Dave Robert is a VP at Discount Bathroom Vanities Publishing, and an avid fixer-upper who's been restoring old houses for more than twenty years. Readers can tap into Dave's knowledge about home remodeling, and kitchen and bathroom design, at: http://www.DiscountBathroomVanities.com

When Nobody Believes in You - Self Help Tips

Maybe one of the most distressing experiences people can encounter is that of being rejected by the people who should be supporting them. Although human beings are intrinsically social and gregarious, there are moments when the community we live in does not fulfill its role of reinforcement it is supposed to have. It is then when people have to deal with feelings of exclusion and loneliness.

When these feelings of rejection are not appropriately dealt with, they have a paralyzing effect on the personal growth of the affected person. Lack of self-esteem and boldness will inevitably lead to a life of failure and underachievement.

If you are struggling in this area, here are some powerful thoughts that will help you confront those feelings of loneliness and rejection successfully:

Don't Rely on Homo sapiens

Most people who think that nobody believes in them judge by the actions of the people around them. Just because people seem to ignore you doesn't mean they don't believe in you. If you are constantly expecting other people to meet your needs of reassurance, you're destined to a life of disappointment.
Don't have too high expectations for people investing time in you. Remember that we live in a fast paced world. Most people, even our loved ones, don't always take time to meet all the needs around them, unless they scream in their face.
Human beings are selfish by nature. Most people are so busy with their own troubles that they don't notice when somebody around them could need a bit of encouragement.
You'd be surprised to find how many people around you are probably hurting just as much as you are. Take the first step and sow love and care into another life without expecting anything in return. If you sow love, you will definitely reap love.

Rely on God Instead

Jesus knows exactly how you feel. He too was rejected and even killed by his contemporaries, yet He walked in a life that always pleased His Father, regardless of what people thought. And His life caused a global impact on the history of mankind.
God also has a perfect plan for you. He has designed you with a unique combination of gifts and talents to accomplish the task you have been given. He loves you and believes in you. And He promised to never forsake you if you chose to walk with Him.

If you are struggling with feelings of loneliness, rejection or lack of self-esteem, I want to invite you to find a new meaning for your life. Go to http://www.Self-DirectedLearningForSuccess.com and get immediate access to my free e-course "7 Steps to Consistently Change Your Life" and my free e-book that will help you develop your God-given talents to find and fulfill your purpose in life.

From Bettina Langerfeldt, who teaches people how to pursue their God-given gifts and talents by designing their own education with self-directed learning.

2008 Freedompioneer

Remodeling Green Takes the Right Mindset

To a real estate investor remodeling green may mean the money they are going to make from renovating that ugly house they just bought for a SUCH A DEAL price. To others, it means they want to preserve the earth and not waste energy, building materials or resources when they remodel their home. Some homeowners and contractors look for and use only products that are advertised as being green, or being manufactured in a way that is as non-toxic as possible. They may put in new appliances and HVAC units that are energy efficient. And build new properties with an eye to energy efficiency in the construction methods applied. That's all good.

Another way to remodel green is to think about what may be thrown in landfills when it could be used again. Some demolitions are done too quickly and roughly to save much of anything. Taking some time there can keep hundreds of pounds of good building materials out of the waste stream. I once had someone tease me on a job site because I was taking some time to remove a few nails from lumber. I had found some 14 foot long hardwood 2x6s with no knotholes and two or three nails in each of them. Hey, I'll spend 15 minutes any day to save $100 worth of wood from being dumped. I doubt you could get lumber that good anymore in most places without paying a stiff premium price. Bring me a truckload, please. You woodworkers know what I'm talking about. Yes, there IS wood pretty enough to admire and remember. Think about each component that you are removing, or working on, during a renovation and decide on a way to remove it with the least damage. Someone may want it if you don't. Haste DOES make waste!

One of the tricks I've done is to keep the area of a countertop that has to be cutout for sinks, etc. I install legs using common items I may have recycled from somewhere else and add those little caster wheels that can be bought cheaply in most large home improvement stores. The ones with locking mechanisms are nice. All you have to worry about is smoothing the cut edges and installing edging or simply routing the edge into a nice shape. You can have a matching rolling portable countertop space without spending much time or money. Oh yeah, don't forget to see if someone can use the old countertop and sink for a garage parts washing basin, garden potting center or maybe a fish cleaning station for the outdoors folks.

If you cruise the tool aisles, I'm sure you know about the great numbers of handy dandy gadgety items for sale. Nail sets are nice, but if you don't have one, try using a nail with a slightly larger head than the one you are driving. A tap or two with the nails head to head and your nail is set. Ever seen one of those plastic nail holders that keeps you from banging your fingers and waking the neighborhood cats with your wailing? Try a small piece of cardboard instead. A little notch and your fingers can be protected. Or the plastic spreaders sold to apply many materials. You can use the plastic lids found on many food containers in the grocery store. You can cut a round lid in half and have a nifty spreader of a custom size. Or the plastic pans sold to hold a small amount of the liquid materials for outrageous prices. Try one of those plastic tops they use on bakery cakes, or the microwave convenience food plastic bowls instead . Instead of buying a sanding block, why not try using a small scrap piece of wood from your projects? Egg cartons can be used to organize small items. It's my mission not to let any plastic have only one use in my household. Only problem is, if it is a while before you need them, these saved treasures may change your nickname to pack rat, but multiple use recycling is remodeling green so who cares? You get the idea. Go for it!

For more interesting information and resources visit us at: http://www.mynetmagic.com

Home Improvement Tip - Fixing a Squeaky Floor

Question: I have a floor that every single time I step on it I get the most annoying sound. I don't know what it does to me or why it bothers me so much. My kitchen floor squeaks and actually moves up and down if you are standing on it. The whole floor moves. How do I stop it from moving and squeaking. Help Me Greg!

Answer: It sounds like you have a broken floor joist. You are going to have to go under your house. If you have a basement this will be a little easier to fix. It is my guess that you don't have a basement or you would have seen the broken floor joist by now.

Have someone stand on the floor in the spot that squeaks and have them move up and down while you are under the house. Don't have them jump up and down while you are under the house. This could cause more damage to the structural framing of the floor. Once you are in the right position under the floor you can have them start moving slowly. What you are looking for is one of the floor joist that are moving.

If you see one of them moving. Look to see where the damage is. Is it a split, crack, wood rot or a big knot in the wood that has loosened up and fell out. Once you find the damaged floor joist you can now think about repairing it.

If you don't see any floor joist moving. Have the person on top start moving a little bit more and you can even have them jump on it a few times until you see something out of place. If you still don't see any broken floor joist. Start looking at the sub-floor, this will be plywood of some form, 1 x 6 or 2 x 6 materials.

What you are looking for is movement of any kind. Is there a separation or movement between the sub-floor and the floor joist. If you still can't find the problem maybe it is time to call in a professional.

The main thing you are going to be looking for is movement of any kind.

Most squeaky floors are caused from the sub-floor rubbing up and down on a nail. If you have carpeting and you have a squeaky floor you can do your best to locate a floor joist and screw right through your carpeting into the floor joist.

For more help on fixing squeaky floors visit http://gregvan.com/wood_repair.htm

Thanks for the great question. I hope it helps.

Greg Vanden Berge has been in the home building and remodeling business for over 30 years. With this knowledge he has created a few websites that provide useful information for home owners as well as contractors. His main goal is to educate professionals in the home related businesses, dealing with problems that can easily be avoided with just a little bit of information.

His website http://gregvan.com provides all kinds of answers to remodeling and new house building issues that could create major damage as well as possible damage to your pocket book.

Visit us now for Home Improvement Tips

Effects Of False Prophets

Want To Control Your Thoughts?

Do you think that your thoughts can rule you? If your answer is YES then you are in the right path. Thoughts play an important role in our life. Our thoughts can be so influencing that we can even heal ailments with just only thoughts. Most of us know this. Also we can make things happen in the way you want them with your thoughts. With your thoughts you can do both good and bad. You may wonder how, just keep reading further.

Thoughts are broadly classified as Positive and Negative thoughts. As the name conveys, positive thoughts are the ones that we will have to give more importance as they do more good than the negative thoughts. There is never a moment a person is not thinking. Most of the time, we are carried away by our thoughts. And most of our thoughts are influenced by people around us.

First of all we must watch our thoughts. Just observe them cautiously. Of course it is difficult the first time. But, you know practice makes a man perfect! You will be able to master this art in no time, if you practice it regularly. Now, after watching them, the next step is to identify them. You can easily find out if it is a Positive or a negative thought. A negative thought is not only those which are bad for us but also the thoughts which will affect others are considered to be negative thoughts. After categorising, our major step will be to control the negative and replace them with the positive thoughts. This is not as easy as we say.

We have to replace the negative thoughts with our positive ones immediately whenever we find them taking control. Longer intervals for this replacement will weaken the positive thoughts and hence the effect will be less. When a negative thought comes and controls? Its origin is from the external forces. Majority of them is from the place and the people. They influence our thoughts and thus affect us. But we need not worry for this because; our thoughts will get influenced only to the extent we allow them. So its very easy for us now. We must be strong and must not allow our thoughts to get influenced. For this we need to practice.

For example, if you have failed in any of your attempts to complete an activity and you thoughts are in such a way which makes you feel more depressed then they are negative thoughts. Say if you think 'Oh I failed! I could not do it! How impotent I am' all these will add on to your failure and will never allow you to try again and succeed. Instead if you start thinking 'these are my new experience and learning that will help me in succeeding in the next attempt. I can do it!' then you will be a winner always!

When we keep reinforcing positive thoughts over the negative ones, we will soon realise that our negative thoughts are gradually getting vanished and we are in control of our thoughts, in turn our emotions. This will surely lead to a happy and peaceful life.

To learn more on thoughts, emotions, dreams do href=" http://mindmanage.blogspot.com/">Visit us

Painting and Decorating Your Home

Growing up, I had a good friend named Reggie who lived in a house that was always clean, always well decorated. Due to this fact, painting and decorating has always come easy for me.

His mom liked to do a quick re-paint of their whole house every spring. She and Reggie (his dad died when he was young) would take a whole week to give everything a fresh coat of paint. His mom was a very clean women. She was raised on a farm and I guess people back then farm kids were raised well.

Because my best friend and his mom would take a few days to go throughout the house painting, no doubt this made an impression on me. I would come into the kitchen or go through their house and everything was nice and new. A nice lifestyle. Something painting decorating is all about - it adds flavor to our lives.

As I got older and found a wife, I moved into one of my grandfathers apartments. I noticed that he was a good painter also. He painted white ceilings with pastel color walls and the woodwork trim was enameled white also. So from these two experiences alone I learned how to be a good painter decorator.

Basically if I was to do a custom interior paint job, I would get custom color charts from the paint store. Paint stores have historical custom color charts with three-color schemes. This helps to take the guesswork out of matching and choosing colors as well as planning out a color scheme for each room.

From there all you have to do is pick your curtains, bedspreads, carpeting, rugs etc. and match them to your new paint job. That's basically all there is to doing interior decorating as far as I see it. Then comes the talent. Some people have a knack for putting colors together that it looks really good.

If you just moved into a new house and there is existing carpeting that you don't want to change, tile floors, stained woodwork or painted woodwork that you plan on keeping the same, you simply have to match up new colors to those existing items.

I painted for an interior decorator off and on for a few years until they moved to another city. I painted most of her house inside and some of the outside. She had a real knack for pictures, wallpaper and furniture. She also had the money to do it all.

Painting decorating the outside of your home can be mentioned here also. There are exterior custom color charts that show three-color patterns or scenarios, even historical colors.

It can get rather pricey to live life at its best when it comes to painting and decorating your home. If you do a little bit at a time it can be a fun hobby. One thing that I highly recommend as a painter decorator is to use quality paints and wall coverings. Never skimp on these things. After all, why waste your precious time and resources on inferior materials? Especially if you have to live with it.

I like to see people put different colors in every room so that every room that you enter is a treat to the eyes and the emotions. I like to see colors that gradually flow from one room to the next gracefully. It's the little things like that that create the nicer lifestyle. There is power in color. Colors effect our moods.

Some people that I have painted for will put the same drab color in every room throughout the house as if they got a special deal on the paint or something. And some people never paint any rooms until they move out. They never get to enjoy the paint job.

Now I'm not all that good at choosing colors. I remember a friend in school that had some of those doodle art pens and was coloring a psychedelic VW Beetle. All his colors he chose were amazing. They all went together so well and they were bright.

As long as I use a custom color matching chart from the paint store I can do a pretty good job when painting and decorating houses. Nonetheless some people have real knack for making awesome colors flow.

Lee Cusano has owned his own successful painting decorating business since 1991. He has also helped many others to start their own painting business with his "Paint Like a Pro Estimating and Advertising CD-ROM". Lee also offers a new free report titled "How To Quit Your Day Job This Week and Double or Triple Your Income". To get it please go to http://www.painting-business.com

Making Space in the Bathroom

Bathroom design has gained considerable appeal in recent years. In the past the bathroom served only for personal hygiene. Today, many homeowners have reinvented the purpose of the bathroom. The bathroom has become not just a room to carry out personal hygiene, but also a refuge where residents can pamper themselves with a relaxing bath.

Bathroom design requires formulating a good plan. Most remodeling plans begin with a budget. Once the homeowner has determined a budget and goal of the remodel a contractor should be located in order to carry out permitted work. The goal of the contractor is to inform the homeowner and give the homeowner remodeling advice and direction.

Common issues that affect bathroom remodels are space, plumbing and lighting. Most homeowners seek to increase space by knocking down interior walls and choosing smaller fixtures and appliances. Improving space is a major consideration when homeowners are looking to add spas or hot tubs.

For today's bathroom remodel, there are a variety of styles for bathroom sinks. Unlimited sink options exist; from the standard, white porcelain, to the glass, granite, corian or ceramic freestanding basin style. Many bathroom sinks today are preformed sink and countertop combinations made of cultured marble. These are cost-effective and a great way to spruce up any bathroom. With one purchase, you can resolve your sink and countertop design. Owners should get creative and shop around for ideas.

Many owners consider a hot tub to be the ultimate bathroom improvement. Owners are recommended to explore the benefits and features of hot tub ownership. Another popular upgrade in bath tubs is the Japanese soaking tubs. They are deeper than the long shallow Western style bathtub and designed for sitting in with the water up to your shoulders. Some even include massage jets and all the other options you find in luxury lie-down bathtubs.

When it comes to bathroom remodeling, homeowners are far more interested in expressing their individuality and sense of style than they are in following current bathroom design or decorating trends. Whether you're looking for details on incorporating historical architecture, adding a luxurious texture to the wall or you just want to fresh change remember to use a licensed contractor for any remodeling requiring a permit, Sovereign Homes will meticulously design and implement a program tailored to your specific needs. From the inception of architectural and interior design to the completed project, we offer a full gamut of renovation services, undertaking projects as small as a kitchen remodel to a full scale renovation.

Drew Macdonald is an experienced Realtor(R) and rental agent from Marco Island Florida and manager of Direct Home Rentals.

The Bible's Power Over One Child

I mentioned Sean in another one of my articles, the story of a young foster boy that we were taking care of. Sean's father was my ex-wife's uncle, and they were going through some tough times for a while and their three children ended up as wards of the state. We eventually ended up taking the oldest child because he was the hardest one to place and another home. His brother and sister ended up with a family that wanted to adopt them and eventually Sean went to live with them and I believe all three of them were adopted by this family. I don't know this for a fact though.

Sean was a emotionally damaged child. His parents would punish him with some strange and bizarre punishments. They weren't really physical punishments but seemed to leave the emotional scars on him and I often think about where he is and what he is doing.

We watched him for about a year and I learned quite a bit from this young man. He was in the third grade but was still at the first grade level for reading and math. I would spend a couple of hours each night during the week helping him with his schoolwork, I seem to have created some sort of allusion that I would be able to bring him up to the third grade level within a short period of time. Wrong. He must've had learning disabilities and of course I don't think I was that good teacher.

Sean was easy going, polite and extremely obedient. He would do anything to avoid getting in trouble and often blamed others for his mistakes. His punishments must have been more than he could bear before he arrived at our home. I think you're getting the picture about what kind of a child Sean was.

One day I found myself in a dilemma with Sean, I couldn't get him to tell me the truth, even though I knew he was lying. I forget what the problem was but I remember a hollow look in his face. It was almost like he wasn't really there. It was almost like he was just doing time, sitting on the bed, listening to me asking the same question over and over again, "Sean are you lying", but he wasn't even paying attention.

I normally would not punish my children for accidents, and never tolerated lying. I was trying to explain to him that he wasn't going to get in trouble, I just wanted to know the truth. He wasn't budging at all and stuck to his story. I remembered that his mother and father were Catholics and feared the church, almost as much as they loved it.

That's what I came up with my evil plan. I don't know where I come up with these ideas, but every once in a while one pops up in my head and I run with it.

I told Sean that I was going to bring the Holy Bible in, and if he could swear on the Bible that he was telling the truth, I would accept that and this would be the end of our conversation. I couldn't believe my eyes, as he started crying and screaming, frantically and excitedly as a yelled out, I did it, I did it, don't bring the Bible in, I won't do it again.

I couldn't believe that was all it took to get information from him. I have always been a pretty good interrogator and found myself gathering information from those people easily, but this was amazing. His fear of the Holy Bible got me thinking about how powerful this book actually is to some people. I remember when I looked upon this book, pretty much the same as Sean did.

It's just a book, like any other book. It's not made at a holy factory or a secret monastery in the Swiss Alps somewhere, it's made from paper and ink and can be damaged and destroyed like other books. I would be surprised if I threw the Bible into the fire, that it wouldn't burn. I would be even more surprised, if I seen three men standing in the fire, wait a minute that's another story in the Bible.

Is it possible for this book to actually control the lives of people. It seemed to control Sean, I wonder if I, could have actually been driving a nail home that his parents started. Could I have added to his belief, that the Bible is a book from God the creator of everything.

Greg is currently working on a video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion. Simple Words Create Powerful Beliefs.

Nothing Will Be Impossible

Saturday, August 29, 2009

11 Tips for Stripping Wallpaper: How to Get Rid of Ugly Wallpaper!

I broke my promise to myself and stripped wallpaper again. The only reason I did this is for $100,000 profit. My family and I did not have time to wait for professional help. We sold our investment property before finishing the work and needed the home ready for appraisal.

While stripping the wallpaper, I realized that many homemakers get wrong advice for this horrendous task. After years of experience on over 30 houses, I offer my tried and best tips:

1. Use a clothes steamer or rent a professional steamer

2. Soak a large section of the wall

3. Run a "Paper Tiger" scoring tool across the damp section

4. Steam the section again

5. Spray the section with fabric softener and hot water

6. Score the section with the paper tiger again

7. Steam again

8. Remove any curling edges (sometimes large areas peel off)

9. Scrape with a six inch sheetrock blade

10. Repeat the above steps on the section until most scrapes off easily

11. Scrub with hot water, TSP, and a sponge with a scratchy surface

Cautions: Use the Paper Tiger gingerly so you don't scratch or gouge the walls. Use gloves with the harsh chemical TSP.

Don't live with ugly wallpaper any longer!

P. S. Please email me if you have any additional tips on stripping wallpaper that would help others!

Jeanette Fisher loves to help home makers create homes for glorious living. For free ebook on Interior Design Psychology go to http://www.joytothehome.com

Multicultural Connections - 3 Tips To Connect People To People With Any Cultural Group

As a personal brand strategy coach, I work with clients helping them unearth their authentic strengths, their unique promise of value and help them connect the dots for their prospects and clients of "the why" in "why do business with me." That authenticity is key to any relationship they are forming, business included. In fact, if you believe that all business is based on relationships. Then understand that the key to all relationships is the relationship you have with yourself.

"Know thyself" stated Shakespeare. And, he is so correct, because it is yourself you bring into every connection. This becomes even more evident in making connections with minority based businesses where even our communication is scrutinized for inclusion, awareness and biases.

"Creating community, awareness and inclusion is our focus" shared Odel Crawford, president of the Texas Association of African American Chambers of Commerce. "Our theme for this month's conference is GROWING BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES IN TEXAS. We realize that there are many issues associated with the development, enhancement and sustainability of minority owned businesses. Of course our focus is on African-American entrepreneurs, however we realize the importance of supporting all minority owned businesses as they are important part of a community's economy."

Mr. Crawford brings out three important points to connecting to any minority business or community and that is to "create community, awareness and inclusion". As a coach, I'm driven to make this into useful, do-able, action oriented activities, so let's go:

First is AWARENESS. Are you aware of the many communities within your community? Sometimes, diversity trainers will say that we focus too much on the differences. While that might be true, I believe that the differences are their already and to ignore them is not authentic. And don't we know that in connecting with people, that insincerity can be "read" quite quickly? How many cultures are in your community? Make a list and next to each culture identify if there is a group, organization, or association that represents that culture.
Second is INCLUSION. Time for some self discovery. Do you do anything that "excludes" or "includes" everyone in your connections? Self discovery can be challenging however, we are that common denominator in every business relationship we have so we're a critical factor. Diverse connections come in many packages and sometimes it is easy for us to assume that the outside or external differences are the only ones we should concern ourselves with. Remove questions like "what are you?" or "what's your nationality?" and rather use all the great networking questions that the many fine experts of this publication will teach you. Asking great questions, or yourself and others and then listening will provide all the "skills" you need to make great connections.

Spending time in self discovery will also help reveal any assumptions that you might have or make. Assumptions, as we all know, can be quite damaging to reputations and relationships. Rachel Stone, president, of the Midland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and active member of the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce, shares the surprised reaction she gets and comments made when she meets them such as "Your last name is Stone? Are you married to an Anglo man? Or, wow, how did you get a last name like that?"

Abraham Maslow, the creator of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs, found that in addition to the basics of food, water, shelter, air, people have a need to "belong and to be valued." Do you fulfill that need for people when you converse with them? Do you do and say things that make them feel that they "belong" or that they are "valued"?

Here's a quick revealing test to see if you do. Have you ever had someone who has to tell you the story in order to relay the facts to you? Have you ever tried to "cut them off" and give you "just the answer" or "the bottom line information"? If you have, you are guilty of making the person who values "detail and information" feel not valued. Truthfully, have you ever done that to anyone?

As in any networking situation, the goal is to learn more about the other person. The more you know the better the connection you can make. The deeper connection you make the more memorable and visible you become (for all the right reasons). The better the connection the more chance they have to sample your character and competence. The more chance they have to sample your character and competence then the faster trust is developed. Trust is foundational to all great relationships - including business relationships.

Dale Carnegie in his book "How To Win Friends and Influence People" speaks of the rules of engagement. One of the rules is, take a genuine interest in what they're interested in. One, cannot take a genuine interest in someone if they do not know what they're true interest is. It's amazing how often I hear people say, "I think this is what he wants. Or, I know that she wants this." Yet, they've 'not asked the person. They are speaking for this person. How do you feel when someone speaks "for you" and does not check in to see if that's really how you feel? Often the feeling is that of assumptions, being judgmental and even to the point of stereotyping.

So, let's get better at asking some good questions. When you ask great questions you get great answers! When do you ask these questions? When you're at a networking event or when you are meeting someone. Steer clear of asking these in "rapid fire" style or like a 20 point oil check. Do weave them into your coffee conversations. They will put more "meat" into your grip, grin and graze. Here are some to put in your connection bag:

What organizations do you belong to? Or, enjoy spending time with?
What drew you to those organizations? What drew you to this organization?
What have you found to be your most successful times with this organization?
What are some of the barriers that you've encountered as an organization?
What do you enjoy about what you do?
What are some of your favorite activities or events with the organizations you're involved in?
How do you keep yourself connected with others between networking or social events?

The key to great questions is to be silent and listen to the answers.

Lastly:

Create COMMUNITY. Bring people together and give them opportunity to feel valued. One of the keys to creating community is to value the people that you are bringing together and that they value you. It is in this "valuing" that you create trust. Trust is a key component to any community and to any team.

Have you ever heard the comment opposites attract? We hear that often especially in the context of couples. And, while in personality style they may be opposites, a closer study reveals that they do share something in common - the same values. Look closely at people in long term relationships and you'll see that they share the same values.

Now, while that is true for marriages and long term relationships there are also some relationships where people do not share the same values but they do share something else in common. They have a shared activity that they enjoy or do together.

As you create community, it can be by discovering and sharing the same VALUES or by having a SHARED ACTIVITY (such as the African American Chambers of Commerce, or the Hispanic Chambers of Commerce) that brings you together.

As this great melting pot world becomes more like the great salad bowl world, you'll see that connecting with minority based networks is more about people relationships that in is about cultural relationships. And, whether their connection is values, generations, experiences or interests, the deepest connections are made people to people.

The true spirit of relationship performance management is to take high performing entrepreneurs and executives from frantic networking to profitable engagement that comes from shedding the limitations of old sales pitches and creating compelling connections. I invite you to discover your personal brand strengths and connect-ability readiness by taking this on-line quiz found at http://www.buzz2bucks.com

If you'd like to learn more about succeeding at your personal brand, visit http://www.buzz2bucks.com You'll learn everything you need to know from what is your personal brand, how to use what makes you best, and engage others in a way that compels others to speak positively on your behalf and influence their contact sphere to your benefit.

Maria Elena Duron, C.P.B.S., C.N.P. PCC, is Chief Buzz Agent, speaker and coach specializing in connecting high performing entrepreneurs and executives and using what makes them best so they can move from their frantic pursuit to success and balance now.

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Blog Archive

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About Me

Monday, August 31, 2009

Bathroom Lighting Fixtures

You Are the Move You Make

Handy Man Talents - Remodeling Tips

When We Choose Misery Over Happiness

Special Needs Bathrooms

Feng Shui and Symbols - What You Have in Your House Says a Lot About You

Problems While You Are Building With Contractors

When We Choose Misery Over Happiness

Changing Habits Can Change Your Life - Goal Setting

Add Value to Your Home - Home Tips

Illuminated Bathroom Mirrors - Choosing the Best For Your Home

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Goal Achieving - The Secret Behind the Secret

How to Get an Extra Room Without Extending

Advantages of Framing With Steel Studs

Remodeling Your Bathroom For Your Health

When Nobody Believes in You - Self Help Tips

Remodeling Green Takes the Right Mindset

Home Improvement Tip - Fixing a Squeaky Floor

Want To Control Your Thoughts?

Painting and Decorating Your Home

Making Space in the Bathroom

The Bible's Power Over One Child

Saturday, August 29, 2009

11 Tips for Stripping Wallpaper: How to Get Rid of Ugly Wallpaper!

Multicultural Connections - 3 Tips To Connect People To People With Any Cultural Group