Tips for Buying an Engagement Ring

Congratulations! You have overcome the Y chromosome commitment phobic gene. You are going to ask her to marry you. Please read this quickly before you change your mind. I have 10 simple rules to follow that will guarantee she will say yes.

1. DON'T buy your diamond from the internet.

Your girl wants to be able to tell a story of how you picked it out. How you knew from the moment it was in your hands, that it was the ring for her. Trust me, saying that you got a warm fuzzy feeling as soon as you saw the Craig's List Ad is not going to cut it.

2. Go to Wal-Mart.

To get yourself a good pair of shoes so you are comfortable visiting all the independent jewellers in your area. Don't go to chain stores, and PLEASE don't go to discount department stores. Girls keep the boxes their rings come in. No one wants to see Wal-Mart or Target on their little velvet box. Your fiance-to-be will also want to establish a relationship with her new jeweller. A place where she will feel comfortable leaving her engagement ring for cleaning, sizing or repairs.

3. Don't be afraid to ask a salesperson for help.

This is one purchase that you are going to need their help with. Very few jewellery stores are self serve.

4. Consider your girlfriends style. Is she very modern or more traditional?

Let your salesperson know and she can help guide you to the perfect ring.

5. Have a budget for the ring

It's important to remember that you get what you pay for. www.ADiamondIsForever.com provides a calculator and spending guidelines based on your yearly salary.

6. Research the 4C's (Clarity, Color, Cut and Carat weight) of diamonds before you part with any of that hard earned cash.

7. Clarity

Don't stress about this one. SI Clarity is what you want unless you are looking for investment or resale. SI means slightly included. Almost all diamonds have imperfections. I like to think of them as birthmarks. They make your diamond unique and special. But the bigger and darker the inclusions the less valuable the diamond. In a diamond graded SI clarity you won't be able to see the imperfections with the naked eye. By staying at this grade and not investing in the higher grades you may be able to get a diamond a little bigger or with a better color.

8. Color

You don't want to scrimp here. No one will notice an inclusion you need a magnifying glass to see, but if it doesn't shine or if it looks dirty both you and her will be disappointed your entire married life. I would recommend a color no darker than H. High color diamonds have come down in price somewhat due to a good number beautiful stones being mined out of Northern Canada.

9. Cut

This is difficult to determine in a ring with the stone mounted. To make sure that the cut was done well and wasn't cut too shallow or deep, hold your diamond to the light. Does it dance? Can you almost see movement? If your diamond sparkles, the cut is just fine.

10. Carat Weight

This is how big your diamond is. Once you have taken the last three points into consideration buy the biggest diamond you can afford. Don't say that your girlfriend's fingers are too small for a big diamond, or that she doesn't like anything flashy. A jeweller I know who has been in the jewellery business for over 50 years has NEVER had a ring been returned because the diamond was too big.

Just one more thing, propose tastefully. Don't put the ring in a bucket of KFC, or pop the question in an ape suit. A nice restaurant, a nice suit, a nice poem (if that's your thing), and getting down on one knee is what melts a girls heart.

Good luck and check back in 50 years for tips on the Golden Anniversary ring.

How to Win a Karaoke Contest

These Boots are Made for Walking" and "one of these days they're gonna walk all over you". That was my song, and that's what I did. Nancy Sinatra helped me walk all over the other Karaoke contestants to win the big prize, dinner for four at Boston Pizza. Okay, it was third prize but still, it was one of my finest moments. As I accepted my award in my 60's boots and blue eye make-up, I knew I had finally found my calling. My boots and I went on to win a number of Karaoke contests and eat some marvelous meals before I finally retired the blue make-up. I still Karaoke for fun but I am now ready to reveal my secrets to the next generation.

I know you are all thinking, how did I capture such desirable prizes? What are my Karaoke secrets? Well at the risk of losing my lucrative free dinner gigs to one of you, I will share my 10 secrets to Karaoke success.

1. Keep it short - This is especially true if the contest is in a bar. People are easily distracted in social situations and short and sweet will hold their attention, longer songs will not. Trust me; "Stairway to Heaven" has never won a Karaoke contest.

2. Keep it fun - People want to forget their troubles. Don't remind them with sad ballads and angry rock songs.

3. Keep it interesting - Don't sing a song that everyone has heard a million times like "Feelings" or "Crazy". Also, don't sing anything overly obscure.

4. Keep it cheese-less - PLEASE do everyone a favour and leave "The Rose" and "Summer Nights" out of your karaoke repertoire.

5. Keep it solo - Groups never win and even if you did win, what if the prize was a diamond ring how do you share?

6. Keep it moist - Your throat. The last thing anyone wants to hear is a dry hacking cough magnified by a microphone. So drink plenty of water before going on stage.

7. Keep it pretty - Dress nice, put some makeup on (girls or drag queens only), comb your hair. Even if it's just in a church basement of your one stoplight town, you ARE performing and people like to have something nice to look at.

8. Keep it moving - Very few of us can captivate an audience with our voice alone and even American Idols have to move around to keep it interesting. So dance, snap your fingers, bob your head. Anything, just move!

9. Keep it in tune - Practice a bit and if you can't reach the notes don't sing the song. There is a karaoke song for everyone, just find the one that fits your range. (there is a reason I sang "These Boots are Made for Walking", and that reason is there is only six different notes in the whole song!)

10. Keep it stocked - The audience that is. Make sure you invite everyone you know who will vote for you. This is the best guarantee for a win.

I promise you, follow these tips and you too will be walking all over the other contestants and dining in style.

Stages of Alzheimers Diseases Progression

I know my fate. I will die of Alzheimer's. Unless a cure is found, I will follow in the sad and scary footsteps of three great grandparents, three grandparents, and a multitude of uncles and aunts. The gene that exists in my family is not early onset but it is voracious and it is terrifying.

Fact: There is a genetic component to Alzheimer's disease. The chances of getting it are greatly increased the more family members who have it.

I know what will happen to me. I will start forgetting that I ate my lunch. I will no longer be able to hold my concentration in my weekly bridge game. I will get lost driving through the city I have lived in half my life. I will brush these off at first because I am much too smart and these are just "senior moments". I will fuel my denial by doing lots of crosswords because surely if I can finish a crossword puzzle I don't have Alzheimer's. I will pull out my photo albums and start naming family members because if I remember all the names, then surely I don't have Alzheimer's. I will cook big fancy meals, because if I can host dinner parties, I surely don't have Alzheimer's.

Fact: In the first stage of Alzheimer's disease, memory loss and the loss of some cognitive abilities will be noticeable but the person can usually compensate for the loss and continue to function.

But then will come the day when I doing my crossword and I can't remember who played the nanny in the Sound of Music, and I will forget the name of my first grandchild in the photo, and I will put the dinner roast in the freezer instead of the oven. I will know for sure that I didn't beat the gene.

Fact: First symptoms can include: forgetting names and words, forgetting their own history, difficulty with routine tasks such as making dinner.

So I will tell my children, only to find out that they already suspected. We will cry, we will try to stay positive and we will go see the doctor. We will get the diagnosis we were dreading.

Fact: Those closest to the patient experience grief at the loss of the person they knew. They often are treated for depression after the diagnosis.

There is talk about moving in with my children, there is talk about having a caregiver come in and live with me. All of a sudden so many people need to know all my business. There is talk of lawyers and "power of attorney". "Where is my banking information?" "Where is my will?" "Where is my jewellery?" All I want to say is, "Where is my privacy!", "Where is my dignity?" But when they all leave, when I am alone in my bed, I am terrified. I try to make deals with God. I pray not to lose all of myself. I pray for an early death when it all becomes too much. I pray not to die alone in a nursing home. When I wake I try to be positive. I tell myself that there are great new drugs that can delay the advance into stage two. Perhaps I have more time yet; perhaps a cure is still possible.

Fact: There is no drug that can cure or even halt the progression of the disease. The best drugs available can only slow the downward spiral. However, they do offer something. They stop the quality of life from declining as rapidly and they may help delay moving the patient into a nursing home.

The drugs have helped. For a number of months I have lived quite happily with my daughter and her family but things are getting worse. I looked in the mirror today and didn't know the woman looking back. I have forgotten my husband. They tell me we were married for 40 years before his death but I look at our wedding picture and can't remember a thing. I know my daughter, but I have no idea who those loud children who live with her are. My daughter is always annoyed with me. She says I am not bathing, but I know I have. But I don't remember what day, and there are criminals that are trying to steal my clothes whenever I get into the tub.

Fact: In the middle stages of Alzheimer's, people may become disoriented about the season, the day of the week, the time of day, they may think they took a bath this morning but it actually was 2 days ago. They may forget their personal history and important events in their life. The personality changes and they may become anxious, easily agitated, suspicious and paranoid.

I almost set my daughters house on fire. I thought I was making some tea and I plugged the iron in instead of the kettle. I guess I put it on some papers and they caught fire. They have decided it's too dangerous for me to live there anymore. They are putting me in a nursing home. I don't care though. I am so tired all the time. All I want to do is sleep. That woman I was living with (they say is my daughter) was always trying to get me to stay up. She was always trying to get me to look at photos and to eat. I just wanted to be left alone.

Fact: It is difficult to pinpoint the onset of the next stage because they overlap; however no longer recognizing family, limited communication skills and exhaustion are usual symptoms of the beginning of the last stage.

I don't know where I am. Strangers take care of me, strangers come to visit me. I can't eat anymore. I can't move. I am always cold. I don't know who I am. I can't remember anything. I have occasional lucid moments where I pray to be released from this prison. I believe the end of my life is near and I welcome it, but will I know it when it happens? I can hear voices, I can no longer see, but I can hear a bit. They are comforting. Are they family or are they angels? They are telling me I can let go, that I can surrender. And I do.

Cause of Death: Alzheimer's Disease

Fact:
Alzheimer's is the 7th leading cause of death Over 5 million Americans are suffering with Alzheimer's

Sources: USA - Alzheimer's Association www.alz.org, Canada Alzheimer's Society of Canadawww.alzheimer.ca

How to Sleep on a Plane and other Long Haul Travel Tips

Children's stories often talk about the magic above the clouds; unicorns, giants, golden harps and the like. Seasoned flyers know the truth though, it's just recycled air and bad food. Flying is a large part of our busy lives, whether it's holidays with Grandma or closing the big deal. The following tips will help you get through it without turning into a troll.

Before booking your ticket

If you are flying economy you want to visit www.seatguru.com. This terrific website allows you to type in your airline and get a list of the best and worst seats in their entire fleet of planes. It is up to you to decide if being too close to the bathroom is worth the trade off of having extra legroom.

Booking your ticket

Most tickets are bought on-line now and you always have the option of choosing your own seat. If you are travelling alone, always look for group of seats where the aisle or window seat is already taken. You then take the other aisle or window seat, leaving the middle free. These middle seats fill up last so you have a greater chance of having that valuable free seat buffer between you and the other passenger. If you are travelling as a couple, choose both the window and the aisle leaving the middle open. If the seat gets taken, no one will mind changing from the middle seat so you can sit together and if it is not taken, it's a much more pleasant flight.

Booking your meal

When you book your ticket you can also choose from a variety of meals (low fat, vegetarian, kosher, etc). If you order one of these meals you get served first (more sleep time) and often they are fresher.

Before you leave for the airport

A lot of people will tell you to check in on-line. They say it's quicker and you don't have to get to the airport as early. It might be quicker if you have no luggage but if you have bags to check, that line is often just as long as the check-in line. Also, if you check-in you have the opportunity to ask for an upgrade. Don't be a jerk about it, dress well and ask nicely. I always say "if the flight is booked and you need to bump someone to business I'd be willing to change seats". They usually smile at you and tell you they will see what they can do. Quite often you won't know until boarding, when they take your boarding pass and issue you a new one (in business!). It is surprising how often you are upgraded just by asking politely. If you are pregnant, tell them this when you ask for the upgrade, a polite, well dressed pregnant woman usually will get bumped up.

At the airport

Arrive early and bring a book. Try hard not to work when travelling on long haul flights. If you can relax at the airport beforehand you are more likely to sleep on the plane.

Boarding

As soon as they call your plane boarding, use the restroom. This reduces the amount of airplane washroom trips. tthen just relax until the line is finished. Why rush to get on the plane and sit in those cramped seats before you have to? Stay in the boarding lounge and watch the line and get up when you see half a dozen people left to go through. There is no need to rush, everyone gets there at the same time.

On the plane

Before you even sit down get out everything you want for the flight and put it within your grasp. Book and bottle of water can go in the pocket in front of you. Laptop,if you must work, can go under the seat in front of you.

Dinner service.

Hopefully you pre-ordered your special meal and you will eat first. This is perfect if the middle seat is free. You can finish your meal; put the tray in the middle seat and watch a movie and drift off to sleep.

Sleeping

Put on your headphones even if you aren't watching the movie, to ensure that people won't talk to you. Put your seat back as far as possible. Don't worry about the guy behind you; the guy in front of you isn't worried about you. Pull out the foot bar from under the seat in front of you. Find a comfy position, pull the blanket up to your chin and head off to dreamland before the fellow beside you starts snoring.

Arriving

Here it pays to get off the plane quickly. If you can walk fast - do it! You have to get ahead of all those passengers or you will be stuck behind them at passport control/customs. Use the moving sidewalks and walk on them.

Passport Control/Customs

Your journey is almost over. You have made it this far. You are well rested, well fed and just got some great exercise racing to customs. All you need to do here is have your documentation ready, be courteous and be polite.

The next time you have an overseas or other long haul flight try these little tips and maybe you can find a little of the magic that just may exist above the clouds.

Breastfeeding - What Lamaze and La Leche Won't Tell You

Breastfeeding - What Lamaze and La Leche Won't Tell You

You are in your last term of pregnancy. You are planning to breastfeed your baby. You've heard all about the benefits of nursing and you are totally prepared, mind, body and spirit for this natural bonding experience.

Then you have the baby. I won't go into labour details; someone else can give you the cold hard facts about that. I'm going to give the cold hard facts about breastfeeding. This article is not intended to discourage you, in fact just the opposite. If you get all the facts up front you will be better prepared and less likely to give up.

Cold Hard Fact #1 You May Not Have Milk Right Away

It can take up to a week for your milk to come in, especially if you have a C-section. In the meantime, you have this tiny little person sucking on nipples that have nothing or little nourishment to deliver, and it hurts. Oh, you have that colostrum stuff, but that doesn't keep those brand new stomachs full. A lot of women have to supplement with formula for the first week. Don't feel like a failure and don't worry about nipple confusion. No-one who is committed to breastfeeding and had to supplement ever had an issue with nipple confusion. It may be a myth. Babies are pretty smart.

Cold Hard Fact #2 Maternity Ward Nurses are Breastfeeding Nazis

They will grab your breast against your will, push it and kneed it and try to shove it in the baby's mouth. Don't let them do this to you. Tell them that it's your body, your baby, and thanks but no thanks. It also seems that no matter how well you think you are doing, they will tell you that you are doing it wrong. Don't listen to them! Cave women figured this out, you sure can.

Cold Hard Fact #3 Engorgement Hurts Like Heck

When that milk finally does come in, it hurts, man it hurts. The girls will be rock hard and full. So full that your nipples will flatten and your poor newborn can't get a hold. You may have to express or pump some milk out just to nurse. You might also want to try a frozen cabbage leaf in each bra cup. It seems to bring a lot of comfort.

Cold Hard Fact #4 You Will Leak

Use nursing pads and don't leave home without them. Nothing is worse than being at the grocery store and seeing a big round wet circle or two down front. You also have to be prepared for squirting. Especially in the first few months when you and your baby are working out supply issues. There are few husbands of nursing moms out there who haven't been hit in the eye at some point.

Cold Hard Fact #5 Chapped Nipples are Not Sexy

And they sting! They have these great devices called nipple shields. Medela makes some good ones. Some breastfeeding organizations are against them, they say they can reduce your milk. They won't. Also, please don't spend your hard earned cash (or your hubby's) on fancy nipple cream. Chapstick works just as well as the more expensive lanolin based products.

Cold Hard Fact #6 You Will Sleep Less than Mothers Using Formula

Breast milk is easier to digest so your beautiful little bundle will be screaming for more long before her formula fed cousins. It's a price we pay for giving our kids the best.

Cold Hard Fact #8 Breastfeeding Does Not Mean you Can Eat What You Want

There is a theory that breastfeeding mothers lose weight more quickly. Maybe they do if they ate normally, but breastfeeding is hard work and nursing mothers need lots of nourishment. They are also up at all hours of the night, so there is a great tendency to indulge in extra snacks. So don't count on nursing to be your weight loss program. The best thing to do is keep a banana or granola bar in the nursery for those middle of the night feedings.

Nursing your child is one of the most natural, beautiful and rewarding things you will ever do. To have your body supply the nourishment to allow your baby to grow and flourish is one of the most amazing things you will ever experience. Don't give up when the going gets tough. And don't forget the chapstick

Ooey, Gooey Yellow Ooze

A beautiful thing appeared one day
Early in the Month of May
It was gorgeous in a stunning way
A strikingly colorful array

The people of a little town
Were captivated by the land's new crown
They gathered all their tools round
And tried to get this jewel down

They struck it with their mighty poles

And created four gigantic holes
Four colors came out in big steaming rolls
The towns' folk got scared and ran for their souls

Ooey Gooey Yellow Ooze
Coming down the road in two's
C'mon and help us spread the news!

Ooey Gooey Yellow Ooze

Blecky, Yucky Purple Slime
Coming down like serpentine
Oops it just got that mime!
Blecky Yucky Purple Slime

Icky, Sicky Big Green Goop
Coming down with Hoola Hoops
Somebody warn those girl guide troops!
Icky Sicky Big Green Goop

Dusty Musty Gross Brown Bunk
Pouring out of old car trunks
We have to stop it or we're sunk
Dusty Musty Gross Brown Bunk

Worried Furried Mr Mayor
Said, this town needs help, someone to care
To tame this colorful nightmare!
Poor worried furried Mr. Mayor

Happy Chappy Painter Paul
Heard the sad and tainted call
My paints and I can help them all!
Onward Happy Painter Paul

First he got the Yellow Ooze
By lighting a special color fuse
It exploded all the sallow hues
Goodbye Gooey Yellow Ooze

Then he hit the purple slime
Got it with some purple mines
Grabbed the slime and saved that mime
See ya later purple slime

Now on to the Big Green Goop
He cornered it in a chicken coop
Then turned it into Broccoli soup
Now is yummy big green goop

Last came musty gross Brown Bunk
He simply told it how much it stunk
It then backed off, an embarrassed hunk
No more worries about Gross Brown Bunk

Now finished, Paul turned around
He then stepped forward and made this sound
"You silly people of this town
Never knock another Rainbow down!"

Explaining Easements

According to the Free Legal Dictionary, an easement is a nonpossessory interest in another's property land that entitles the holder only the right to use such land in the specified manner. If you are a homeowner with an easement attached to your property or a homeowner who requires an easement from another in order to use your own property, then at some point you have wondered about the property easement rights of the owner. Easements can be a complicated matter. There are four basics types of easements, although there are many variations and additions to each of these four. Right-of-way easements This is the most common type of easement. This is the type of easement that would be required by the owner of a landlocked property. He would need an easement of access, such as a driveway or road that crosses the secondary property. These types of easements can also be split into positive and negative easements. Access to a beach through a neighbor’s property would be an example of a positive easement. A negative property easement would prevent that same property owner from planting trees or erecting a structure that would block your path. These easements must be revealed by the seller to the buyer in the course of the property sale. These rights of easements are normally transferred by will, deed or contract and are attached to the properties and not the individuals. Easements of support In many large cities, both residences and commercial properties are abutted up against each other. An easement of support gives the owner of one building the right to have his building supported if the structure beside his is to be demolished. The easement of support also applies to soil that is moved that can cause a structure to lean or collapse. Easements of light and air This easement recognizes our rights to sunshine and fresh air. It is considered a negative easement and prevents our neighbors from erecting a structure or altering his landscape that reduces the amount of light we are receiving or blocking our access to fresh air. An example is a neighbor who erects a garage in front of your family room, reducing your light and reducing the quality of your air. Easement rights, however, are not keeping up with the times for rights to solar and wind energy. There has been to date no precedent for a neighbor who has lost the use of his solar or wind power due to the obstructive nature of another neighbor’s structure. Water This easement allows you to draw water from a spring, waterway or well of a neighbor’s property. It is more of an issue in rural areas. It is also important to note that if that easement is not utilized for any reason the right of easement can become moot. It is important when you are looking at homes for sale that you take note of any easements attached to property, whether it is an easement for your property or on your property. Issues can arise decades later if issues are not handled properly during sale. Make sure you contact the services of a good real estate lawyer to ensure you are well protected.