The LuxMob Info Tags

Even if you are not a cat person, bear with me, this story goes far beyond cat mania. Our little tabby cat was frightened and highly-sensitive from the day we rescued her from the SPCA, two and a half years ago. No doubt being jailed there for four months messed her mind. As we came to learn “Shylo’s” nature we renamed her “Shybaby.”

Extreme patience was the first virtue Shybaby taught us. We would have to be still, with arm out stretched, finger pointing toward her, and wait for her to rub by our finger numerous times before she would deem to move in closer. Closer contact would have to be her move, not ours. If we rushed this timely greeting she fled. (Often this time consuming ritual was far too much for our teenage boy!)

Yet, if we, and particularly myself (as I must admit that little cat really came to dote on me) were too impatient or too busy to spend time with her, Shybaby became even more skiddish and frightened. Intuitively she knew when I was lost in my hyper, anxious “I have so much to do and so little time” state, as then, Shybaby fled from my energy. Seeing this I would stop, sit down, and practice breathing and being - my “kitty meditation.” As I calmed down, kitty calmed down.

Couldn’t we all benefit from a little more “kitty meditation” in life? Firstly, noticing when we are anxiously driving ourselves and then, practicing patience with ourselves, and breathing and being?

This sweet little soul also taught me the preciousness of each moment. As usual, she leaped upon my bed this morning - with her uncanny knowing the moment I had opened my eyes - to give me her love greetings. I relish her affection even more so today and with a heavy heart knowing she is to die tomorrow. My little girl cat is in the advanced stages of liver cancer, no longer eating, and there is naught else we can do other than love her.

So, this moment with her is so very special because I know it will never be repeated. Soon she will be gone forever from our lives. With bitter-sweet revelation I understand this to be the truth of each single, present moment. We only have each moment now, this once, to fully experience and enjoy it, and then it is gone forever. I am chilled by how carelessly we forget this - rushing onto the next thing, consumed with past and future thoughts – missing the only moment we have!

Also, I have my cat to thank for helping me keep things in perspective. Yes, there is a deep hurt in my heart knowing cancer rages in her body and soon she will be gone yet, I am deeply grateful it is not one of us. Our lives have already been scarred by painful losses caused by cancer.

Yet, we are now deeply grateful as my father-in-law seems to have won his recent round with cancer. With much relief, we are no longer visiting him in the cancer ward. I am losing my sweet, little cat but my loved ones are here.

Little Shybaby has barely eaten in over two weeks. Although a small cat, she used to have a roundness about her that is lacking now. Although we know we can no longer selfishly delay her death - wanting one more day of her sweetness - it is so hard to let her go. I am amazed at how this little animal – despite illness and lack of nourishment – seeks to be near me and to heal me with her loving purr even now. This too is Shybaby’s legacy on leading a happy life: Do your best to keep loving, no matter what.

So let us all remember the teachings of the wise little Zen master, Shybaby:

1. Practice Patience in All Things

2. Practice Breathing and Being

3. Live in the Precious Present Moment

4. Keep Things in Perspective

5. Do Your Best to Keep Loving, No Matter What

About the Author

Teresa Proudlove is the publisher/editor of www.yourlifework.com: support and inspiration for your work and life. Teresa has been inspiring, supporting, and mentoring over 3000 people upon their lifework path for fourteen years, leading workshops and authoring many internationally published articles.

As a student of the body-politik, I have recently been
re-examining the seemingly absurd notion of having comedians and
cartoon characters filling in for the roles of our current
politicians and statesman. After careful consideration- the
notion may not be so absurd at all.

As a former student of public administration at Ohio State
University in the mid 1980s, I had offered the notion to one of
my professors. She looked at me quite condescendingly and
suggested that perhaps I should spend less time in front of the
tube on Saturday mornings and more time studying the rudiments
of statesmanship. I took it personally and offered her an
exploding cigar.

Others have clandestinely intimated to me that there just might
be true merit to the idea. Our corridors of power would not be
filled with the current group of irksome and often mediocre
politicos pursuing self-serving agendas. Instead, a diverse
assemblage of wise-cracking rabbits, sponges wearing square
pants, and fearless mice sporting capes would successfully be
passing legislation. As an example, what better group to
consider the issues of commercial depletion of our national park
lands than the very critters who inhabit them? Daffy Duck’s take
on hunting legislation would be of immeasurable value. And who
better than Mickey Mouse to offer some prudent advice on cheese
export tariffs?

Talk about political expediency, having the ability to
physically zoom above political firestorms, walk off of mountain
cliffs without falling, and deftly slip in and out of rabbit
holes during voting role calls, does have its value. Along with
our celluloid friends, real life comedians would equally do well
as substitutes for our contemporary statesmen. The late Rodney
Dangerfield, although obsessed with his self-proclaimed lack of
receiving respect, would offer some real insight to issues
regarding dignity for those living on the edges of society. Joan
Rivers, as chair of a senate subcommittee investigating
licensing regs for cosmetic surgery would leave them in
stitches. And, seasoned legislators would have nothing on Moe,
Larry and Curly. Only this trio, based upon collective personal
experience, could effectively influence legislation on the
public health hazards of misplaced banana peels, the impact of
being poked in the eyes, and the ramifications of ingesting
varnish and paint.

In sum, I am convinced that there are few social or political
problems that couldn’t easily be solved by that special
character who has mastered the perfectly executed pratfall,
delivered an artfully tossed cream-pie, or had an anvil fall
upon their heads.

You can have your legislators, your savvy politicians, your
stuffy statesmen.

As for me…a government of bunnies, rascals, and stand-ups
will do just well…with Porky Pig, of course, as
“P…PP..PPres..presid…er…a…Chief Executive!”

Yesterday, I found this quote scribbled in one of my old
note-pads: “With love, nothing else matters; without it,
everything else gets on your nerves.”

Every Valentine’s Day, flowers, cards, chocolate candy, and
presents abound and love letters are sent between lovers.
Widespread symbols are hearts and arrows, flowers especially red
roses, cupid, and the color red or pink.

February 14 is the time when birds start mating; therefore,
since the olden times, the celebration of romantic love was
traced to this day. The earliest date this holiday is found in
would have to be in Greek mythology attributing February 14 to
the marriage of Zeus and Hera. On Zeus and Hera’s trail, comes
Lupercalia or the festival of Faunus, the god of fertility in
ancient Rome.

Then, there are several Christian saints named Valentine to whom
this celebration of love can be attributed. Most of these St.
Valentines were martyred for one reason or another, like the St.
Valentine in Rome who aided prisoners or the St. Valentine in
Africa. Among the martyrs, the most likely St. Valentine for
whom the Valentine’s day was named is the saint who performed
soldier weddings, disregarding Emperor Claudius II’s order
banning Roman soldiers from marriage.

Without any doubt, celebration of love leaped into the earliest
centuries and to the time of Renaissance. The oldest known
valentine is a poem written in 1415 by the duke of Orleans to
this wife, while he was in prison. It is kept in the manuscript
collection of the British Library in London, England.

Sending love poems, letters, and cards to lovers soon became a
fashion. During the 1800’s books of romantic poetry were
published for Valentine’s day. From inside those books, young
men chose poetry to give to their sweethearts. In the United
States, most of all valentines people sent to each other were
imported from Europe until 1914 when the American publishers
jumped into action.

In our time, celebrating Valentine’s Day custom still exists and
flourishes, even if St. Valentine was taken down from sainthood
by the Roman Catholic Church. During the latest two decades,
celebration of Valentine’s Day has spread to India and China,
probably due to these countries’ sudden economic boom.

Accordingly, Valentine’s Day has become the most card-sending
time of the year after Christmas, with most of the cards
purchased by women. Not only that, elaborate, tasteful, and
original artistic card creations have come into existence and
are now being offered even on the internet, like those in
www.prye.com.

Since there is so much ado about it, let’s try to define
romantic love. It is said that real love is unconditional. This
is such an appealing statement and so idealistic that we wish it
were true.

The notion of romantic love, however, is based on the idea of
preservation of our species and works better on reciprocal give
and take than on one-sided martyrdom. Romantic love is based on
a genuine concern for the welfare and happiness of the other
partner without giving away from one’s own safety and personal
power.

Experiencing truly lasting romantic love takes time, work, and
patience. Once the initial attraction and fantasy wears off,
sometimes we stumble and doubt our partner and even our own
feelings. This is nothing to worry about but a natural outcome
of being human. A good and enduring relationship takes time,
effort, understanding, and acceptance to cultivate. The idea is
not to give up but work attentively at perking up the
relationship.

When two people care about each other’s happiness, pleasure of
being together becomes delightful and healthy. Genuine praise,
little loving gestures, kind words, and true caring enhances
such a relationship greatly and that’s what makes the
celebration of Valentine’s day or the celebration of love so
important in our lives.

An ipod is a portable digital media player designed by Apple Computer. IPod is currently very much popular for storing and playing audio files. It offers great sound quality and can store up to ten thousand songs. Standard ipod has built-in hard drive to store media files while shuffle, smallest ipod and ipod nano use flash memory. It can works as external data storage device after connected to computer.

IPod is selling like hotcakes throughout the world. All generations of ipod have monochrome screens excluding fourth generation ipod that has color screen. ‘iTunes’ is software that is used for transferring music, photos and videos to the ipod. Actually it is music jukebox that holds complete library of users’ music on their PC. Apple’s iPod came with unique white headphones.

Ipod is an easy to use portable digital media player. It can easily communicate with iTunes as connected to PC either Windows or Macintosh. It doesn’t require user interference to coordinates with personal computer. Ipod plays MP3 audio files as well as AAC; advanced audio coding that was designed by Dolby Labs as a part of MPEG-4 audio/video standard.

People generally buy ipod due to certain reasons such as it is thin as pencil and can be easily fit into wallet. It offers great listening pleasure. Its screen is unbreakable and strain proof thats why you can use it without any fear. You can easily access listen world’s great selection of music due to iTunes music store. It is an expensive media player that costs US$199 for 2GB and US$249 for 4 GB.

About Author: Author presents a website on ipod. Website provides information about ipod, reasons to buy ipod, features of ipod and some tips to buy ipod. You can also visit his site for cheap iPod

Payday cash loans are starting to become the most popular way for people to borrow money. This is partially because they are just so much more convenient then other professional loan alternatives. A store offering a payday cash loan is almost as easy to find these days as a corner coffee shop. They are everywhere, and no longer just in the big cities. They’re also popular because getting one of these loans is simple. It doesn’t involve a complicated application, paperwork, or credit checks.

There are alternatives though, and these are important to check out before making the hasty choice to run in to get an easy payday cash loan. First and foremost, do you really need the money? While running low on funds for rent is a definite reason for getting cash quick, as is needing food for that matter, but being the first to get a new video game or grabbing yourself a stake for a poker game is just bad thinking. Surprisingly enough, people do this and its not altogether smart; not because those things aren’t fun, but because getting them through a payday cash loan just adds a large amount to the final cost.

If it is something that really can’t wait then perhaps your boss can get you an advance on your next paycheck. A lot of employers, especially in smaller businesses who handle their payroll from within, are often willing to help out when it’s for something important. Obviously though, if you need it too often then you’ll just wind up getting on your bosses bad side.

Alternatively try a family member or friend. A lot of us shy away from this sort of thing but money from a person you know will likely cost you a lot less then from a payday cash loan. Okay, it ought not cost you a thing. Just like your friends start doing lots of favors for you when they need something, you can do a few favors for them.

There are even small loan offices and credit unions available for lower interest loans if you are willing to take the time to apply. These definitely cost money but nothing you couldn’t afford if you were already willing to get a payday cash loan. Similarly, borrowing money from your own credit card is relatively easy. This too costs money and in rare cases may have a higher upfront fee then the payday loan, but a credit company is far more forgiving on late payments.

The reason these alternatives are so important to consider is that a payday cash loan is a costly way to get money. Pretty much, you are literally buying cash. When getting a loan from a payday counter the borrower has to, typically, write a check for the borrowed amount plus a fee. After checking out the above alternatives you’ll see that the fee is a lot higher then a regular interest rate. The bigger expense comes if the loan can’t be paid back on time. Usually the fee is just added on again and again. Within weeks the borrower can owe more money than any other loan would have cost after years.

If money is urgently needed and there are no other means to get it, a payday cash loan is not a bad thing and it’s nice to know that the choice is there. Make sure you research the company you go to though, and make sure you completely understand the terms of their loan.

Christopher M. Luck has an extensive background in dealing exclusively with payday cash loans and is now offering his free professional loan secrets to the public.

Meditation is healthy, safe and affordable. In fact it’s free. The only expense you’ll have is a meditation mat, which isn’t especially necessary-at least from my experience. Meditation has been around for 5,000 years, and was originally a spiritual component of yoga. Through the years non-yogis adopted it, intuitively sensing and connecting the practice with greater peace of mind. Personally, I can’t say enough good things about meditation. Its use has rewarded me with less worry and much more energy. But I’ve never been one for anecdotal evidence. Let’s get to the science…

Transcendental Meditation

Recently, there’s an incredible amount of science tied into the benefits of meditation. The studies are endless and cover a variety of meditative practices. On Transcendental Meditation alone (mantra repetition) there are over 500 studies. Some are more noteworthy that others. A study in the Japanese Journal of Public Health found that through Transcendental Meditation, industrial workers sleep improved and their smoking decreased. Another study conducted at the MERU Research Institute, in Buckinghamshire, England found that the length of time practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program correlated with younger biological age and younger functional age.

Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness meditation, which asks us to focus on our breath to facilitate awareness of the present moment, is another widely studied meditation technique. After studying the effects of 8-weeks of mindfulness meditation on participants, a 2003 report in the Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine concluded: “A short program in mindfulness meditation produces demonstrable effects on brain and immune function.” Impressive, but fairly vague. To get a more committed response to the benefits of meditation we have to turn to Taiwan. In 2002 their journal Chang Gung Medicine reported that “training in MM may be a medically superior and cost-effective alternative to pain medication for the control of headaches with no underlying organic causes in highly motivated patients.”

Stress Reduction and Meditation

What causes these positive physical changes? To answer this, other research has looked at the specifics of what happens in the body during meditation. . Researchers at the Maharishi School of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, found that meditation has an enormous impact on stress reduction. When they examined a group who had meditated for four months they saw that they produced less of the stress hormone cortisol. They were therefore better able to adapt to stress in their lives, no matter what their circumstances were.

Having balanced cortisol levels is essential to mental and emotional health. Notice I say balanced rather than none. We don’t want to completely eliminate cortisol. If we did we’d be dead. Even low cortisol levels can be dangerous. Not enough cortisol is the identifying trait of Addison’s disease. John F. Kennedy had this condition, which he denied passionately during his presidency. Yet during his term he regulated his levels through hydrocortisone (synthetic cortisol). The reverse of JFK’s condition is called Cushings Syndrome.

The five most common and noticeable changes of this condition include; red face and puffy cheeks; excess fat surrounding the collar bones, muscle weakness, and hypertension. But we don’t have to have Cushing’s Syndrome to be damaged by extra cortisol. The changes we experience may be subtle variations of these. Plus, the changes caused by excess cortisol are age dependent. Young people may stop growing and teenagers can develop acne. The mature among us aren’t safe either. Since excess cortisol damages bone-tissue those over age 60 may develop fractures related to osteoporosis. So it’s evident that if we can regulate cortisol, especially through a natural process, we owe it to ourselves to try.

Other Benefits of Meditation

Regina Drueding, MD, is a meditation instructor at Life Circles in Utah, USA. She quotes the benefits of meditation as follows: “more energy, improved quality of sleep, decreased anxiety, lessened chronological aging, improved concentration, improved visual acuity, increased alertness and heightened immunity.” She writes: “Besides the benefits mentioned earlier, meditation results in improvement of hypertension, sleep disorders, headaches, heartrhythm disturbances, chronic pain – pain due to cancer, infertility and irritable bowel syndrome. Following meditation, mental and physical refreshment result – and benefits are cumulative with regular practice.”

How to Meditate

Meditation is both simple and complex. It’s like defining the color orange: When you see it you know it. Similarly, the experience of meditation is best, well…experienced. In an article in New View magazine, Shippensburg University’s Dr. C. George Boeree describes the basics of Buddhist meditation. In summary, the beginner’s technique is as follows:

1. Sit or kneel comfortably.

2. The hands are loose and open with the palms up, one atop the other and thumbs lightly touching.

3. Head is upright. Eyes may be closed or open. If open they should focus on your hands or a spot nearby.

4. Beginning meditators should count upwards to ten on each exhale. Breathe in a relaxed and natural way. Then begin again at one and repeat. Continue to breathe naturally.

5. Continue for 15 minutes.

In my personal experience, I don’t find that the specific length of time is as important as repetition and persistence. To paraphrase, 10 minutes daily beats 15 minutes once a week. This brings me to another point: We all have different personalities and as such, different meditation approaches suit some more than others. Thankfully there are many varieties of meditation. Some varieties have sub-varieties.

Mindfulness meditation is one of these versatile practices. Perhaps it’s because its essence-awareness of the present moment-is so versatile. Mindfulness in our daily life can be practiced by slowing down and attending to our surroundings. What are our 5 senses telling us? We can use mindfulness in the middle of a hectic day, such as paying attention to our breathing when stopped at a traffic light. We can also use other everyday events as triggers for mindfulness. Buckling your seatbelt? Make this a reminder to return to the present. Really think about what you’re doing and the details of the experience.

The more traditional may benefit from a more formal mindfulness practice. You may sit in the identical form as in traditional Buddhist meditation- on a chair or kneeling. However, you may also sit with your legs crossed. Your eyes are closed and your posture is both straight and relaxed while your head remains upright. Focus on your breath and allow mental chatter to float by without regard. Thoughts, emotions and sensations will come, but don’t be influenced by them. Keep focused on your breath. If you are getting involved with your thoughts don’t worry-your efforts aren’t destroyed. The key thing is to bring your attention back to breathing and continue. This can go on for 5 minutes to 5 hours. It’s up to you.

Transcendental Meditation is another popular form of meditation. Generally, this type is practiced twice daily for a period of 15-20 minutes. Again, this technique involves sitting comfortably. Yet in contrast to basic Buddhist the eyes stay closed. Each student is given a mantra and is instructed to induce relaxation through use of this mantra. Since many of either can’t or won’t go to a formal TM class, a no-fail mantra I recommend is the classic OM. In The Heart of Yoga, T.K.V Desikachar writes that repetition of “OM” enables us to maintain mental and emotional calmness, overcome obstacles and enable understanding. It is the shortest of the mantras, and is said to be suggestive of God. If you’re uncomfortable with the religious aspects of OM I suggest a word that has positive meaning for you, such as love, calm or peace. Calm is an ideal substitute, since vocally it resembles OM.

Final Word

You may never, ever choose to meditate. Yet if this is your choice it may be valuable to question why. For a long time I was reluctant because of images of the dropout hippie 60’s. Yet when I tried it the experience overcame my reservations. If you try it the same may happen to you. If it doesn’t you haven’t lost any money, and you’ve gained a new experience.

Resources:

Getting in the Gap: Making Conscious Contact with God Through Meditation (Hay House Inc., 2003)

The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh (Beacon Press, 1975)

Galina Pembroke

When advertising property, remember that there are a number of criteria that people follow in order to make a decision about the property that they would like to rent. If you place yourself in the shoes of the house hunter the process that most people will follow is as below.

Decision 1 – Deciding on the location of where they want to live.

Majority of people will be either moving to a rental property in the same town and will therefore have knowledge of where they would like to live in that town or will be moving in from a different area. If someone is moving in from a different area then they will be basing their decision on a number of different fixed criteria.

Firstly their budget will reflect on the location that they can move in to, different areas have different rental rates, some influencing factors include crime, schools, location to town centre and property types.

Decision 2 – Type of Property

The second factor is the type of property that someone wants to live in. This will be dependant on how many people need to live in the property and will directly reflect the areas that the person can choose to live. Once these two factors have been taken into consideration then the rental hunter has a list of locations and the property type and the rough rental value that they can afford.

Making Your Property Advert Count

The likely hood is that there will be a wide choice of property open to the house hunter, so what steps can be taken to ensure that your property stands out from the rest.

Pictures

Firstly the majority of internet sites either letting agents own sites or property portal sites now have pictures of the properties. It is important that the pictures are of good quality and there are pictures of different areas of the house. The first picture will be the one that attracts the user to investigate more about the property; It is common to ensure that the first picture is a good quality photo of the front of the house. Make sure that you follow these guidelines:-

(1) Use a good quality camera which will allow anything over 4 million pixels.

(2) Ensure that the light is good, a sunny day is best.

(3) Take Multiple pictures from different angles.

The same factors apply to all the rooms of the property; take a selection of each of the rooms and the gardens in order that you can pick and choose the additional photos at a later date. People are interested in the kitchen, living areas primarily and these areas are what will attract someone to investigate the property further.

Initial Information

We live in a fast paced world where information needs to be at hand straightaway, people do not have time to search for information. It is necessary that the most important information is to hand for people straightway, this will be number of bedrooms and price and a picture of the front of the property. Make sure that these are clear and easy to find within your property advert. If the first three criteria are met then people will take the time to investigate further and look for more information.

Additional Information

Once you have attracted the attention of the property hunter then it becomes important to keep them interested in the property. Make sure the information is concise and offer as much as possible, some other areas that people have particular interest in are whether the property accept pets, dss, central heating, double glazing, is the house furnished, does it offer white goods, does it have off road parking, garden etc. Have these in bullet points, they are easy to read and the user can quickly match them against their criteria.

If you are aware of additional information about the local area then this can be added to the advert at the end. People often have particular interest in council tax bands, proximity to the town centre, schools and other general information about the local area. If possible add links to local websites that may be of use, or use information from these sites in your advert, make sure if you do use other peoples information that you reference them.

A good example of clear concise information can be found on the Rentright Property Rental Portal which follows the guidelines that have been outlined above. Letting Agents who upload the most information to the site tend to have the most interest in their property.

The more information that you give in the advert the more likely it is when someone does want to view the property that they will be interested in renting it out. Don’t be economical with the truth about the condition of the property or features, this will not only waste your time but will also waste the time of the property hunter. As the old saying goes……………….. A Picture Paints a Thousand Words.

Chris Courtis is the co-founder of the Rentright Residential Property Rental Portal and is dedicated to residential letting through out the UK.

What is the purpose of protein in the human body?

Protein is a very important nutrient that has many functions:

Protein is critical in the production of hormones and enzymes.
Enzymes are forms of protein that catalyze all chemical reactions in the body.
Antibodies are made of proteins, which fight diseases and clean up foreign bodies.
The carrier agents that transport oxygen in the blood are made of protein.
And, of course, as we all know, protein is essential for the structure, growth, repair, and function of all the cells that make up our tissues, organs, and glands.

Protein is made from the building blocks called amino acids, some of which the body makes and some of which the body must get from outside sources. And this is the sticking point for most of us. What are the best, most nutritious outside food sources of protein? We have all been lead to believe that our best sources of protein are animal products.

We have all been duped.

Our best sources of outside protein do not come from animal products. If you research the journals and the books by experts such as John McDougall, M.D., Neal Bernard, M.D., Joel Fuhrman, M.D., T. Colin Campbell, PhD., and many others, you will discover that the best sources of protein for human health, without the excess fat, cholesterol, chemicals, animal protein and calories, come from plant foods.

It’s hard to believe that plant foods contain enough protein for human health.

Let’s use our common sense and think about protein logically.

What is one of the main purposes of protein? Protein is necessary for growth. Right?

When do we grow the most? From the ages of 0 to 2 years old? What is the best food for growing babies? Human breast milk. How much protein is in human breast milk? 4.5% protein.

The World Health Organization recommends that 4.5% protein is necessary for human health and fitness. How much protein do oranges contain? 8%. Carrots? 10%. Tomatoes? 16%. Potatoes? 11%. Brown rice? 8%. Romaine lettuce? 36%

According to the World Health Organization, we get plenty of protein from plant foods, without mixing and matching them.

One more logical question to ask yourself when you are wondering whether or not you are getting enough protein: “Where do some of our great, big, strong mammals get their protein for growth and maintenance for their muscles and bones?”

Do elephants eat chicken? Do cows eat cows? Do horses eat fish? Do apes eat cheese? Do giraffes eat eggs?

Of course not.

These animals grow and maintain large muscles and thrive by eating plant foods and not even a huge variety at that.

So the next time you eat beef or chicken or turkey or fish, don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are eating it because you have to get your protein.

Be honest. The reason and the only reason why you are eating animal products is because you like them, and you choose to eat them.

Just remember to assume full self-responsibility for the consequences of your daily food and lifestyle choices, and, as our parents taught us, there are always consequences to our actions, be they immediate or twenty years down the road.

Dr. Leslie Van Romer is a health motivational speaker, writer, and lifestyle coach. Visit http://www.DrLeslieVanRomer.com for more inspiration.

This article is designed to help Wrightstown Pa. residents
select plants and shrubs for hedges. Not all plants that are
suitable are listed here but most common and easy to raise ones
are listed.

Hedges are one of the major components of your landscape.
Hedges define the limits of your landscape and thus should be
the starting point in your landscape design. Before selecting
plants, you should carefully consider their landscape
requirements and the characteristics of the plants. For example,
deciduous plants drop their leaves in the fall and are effective
screens mainly during the growing season. Evergreens provide
good screening all year. Gardeners considering a sheared, formal
hedge should realize that they may need to be pruned (sheared)
several times a year to remain attractive. In comparison, an
informal, natural hedge is relatively low maintenance. Select
shrubs that grow to the desired height. Planting a tall-maturing
shrub where a short, informal hedge is desired creates work.
Many landscaping problems are prevented by selecting the correct
planting material.

Our plants are well suited for many hedge plantings. We sell
many types of plants and shrubs which can work well as a natural
privacy boarder. Bare-root material is the most economical type
of nursery stock when planting a hedge. However, bare-root
plants are rather small. For the beginner, bare root is the
hardest type of plant to grow out. Container-grown and balled
and burlapped plants are larger, but are more expensive. You
will have better luck with potted and B&B stock…The added cost
will be worth it. Most B&B and potted stock can be planted
whenever the ground is not frozen as long as you have the
knowledge to help the plants along.

Plant spacing is determined by the plant species and hedge type.
Most plantings will range from a spacing of a foot or two to a
couple of feet. Many people will plant the shrubs and fail to
prune them back hard. Pruning generally will make the shrubs
more dense and compact.

The following is a list of shrubs suitable for hedges that we
sell:

Amur maple Acer ginnala 15 to 18 feet natural Barberries
Berberis species 1 to 5 feet natural or sheared Boxwood Species
2 to 4 feet natural or sheared Redosier dogwood (D) Cornus
sericea 8 to 10 feet natural Burning bush (D) Euonymus alatus 6
to 15 feet natural Junipers (E) 8 to 15 feet natural Beautybush
(D) Kolkwitzia amabilis 8 to 10 feet natural Spirea VanHoutte
(D) 6 to 8 feet natural Lilacs (D) 4 to 15 feet natural Yews (E)
Taxus species 2 to 10 feet natural or sheared Arborvitae (E) 3
to 15+ feet natural or sheared Arrowwood viburnum (D) Viburnum
dentatum 6 to 8 feet natural American Cranberry (D) 8 to 12 feet
natural

When you visit Highland Hill Farm at 5275 W Swamp Rd. (rt. 313)
Fountainville Pa. we will be happy to show you these plants. You
can also go to our web site http://www.seedlingsrus.com

To conduct business on the Internet, whether informal, one-time only transactions between two friends, or a full-fledged business selling products or services, payment arrangements have to be made. Before 1998, this often meant either checks sent through snail-mail, or very expensive, and often hard-to-obtain, merchant accounts for online credit card processing. In 1998, PayPal was introduced to fill the payment processing gap.

PayPal now has about 50 million members, but was originally introduced to provide a payment processing service for online auction buyers and sellers, in particular, eBay. Since then, PayPal has grown into the premier third-party payment processing service. In fact, PayPal was so successful that eBay bought the company in 2002, replacing their own Billpoint service with the far superior PayPal service.

PayPal is free to join, although buyers are no longer required to join in order to pay for goods and services from seller members. Many people are still afraid to do business online, and won’t provide their credit card information. Scams certainly abound in cyberspace, but PayPal is a solid, reputable company, and there is little to fear.

For sellers, PayPal offers much lower processing fees than many other third-party processors. PayPal rates are not much higher than those of merchant account processors, and there are no ongoing fees. You only pay PayPal fees when you make a sale. It is also much easier and faster to set up a PayPal account than a merchant account. Some sellers complain of unjustly frozen PayPal accounts, and as with most any service, there are plenty of horror stories surrounding other PayPal actions. However, many more buyers and sellers have used PayPal from the beginning with no problem at all.

PayPal offers transfer of funds to and from a PayPal account through e-checks, debit and credit cards, and instant transfer from other members’ accounts. They offer debit cards to allow you to make purchases against your account balance, just as you would with a bank debit card, a money-market interest rate on the balances in some accounts, seller and buyer protection services, invoicing, recurring billing, shopping cart, and many other tools that online merchants may need.

About The Author

Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.sitetube.com. Visit his website for the latest on planning, building, promoting and maintaining websites.