Mamma Maya

Archive for November, 2009

Article Marketer, a quick warmup before you unleash an arsenal of articles and blast your business out there to the global mass market. Today’s question: Do you know WHO you’re writing to?

The “Who” is your Article Marketing Audience.

Who’s reading this article that you plan to write? Ideally, someone in your target niche.

Why are you targeting a niche? Because you have a service or product to offer the web. You want people to buy it.

Before you begin writing articles, think about the language that your “Article Who” understands best and is most likely to respond to.

Hypothetically, let’s think about the “voice” that we use when talking on the phone.

How do you sound and what do you say when you’re on the phone with your little nephew? What tone do you take and what do you talk about when you’re on the phone with Grandma?

Think about the voice you’d use when speaking to the following people:

- The customer service lady at Verizon Wireless

- Your wife or husband

- Your client

- The loan officer who’s handling your mortgage

- The principal of your child’s school

Much like our phone mannerisms, we alter the “voice” in our articles depending on who we’re talking to. So before we start tapping out the article copy, it helps to “hear” the voice we plan to use on our prospects. Identify with their needs, their fears, their habits and attitudes. Isolate the problem, position yourself as having the solution.

Sometimes it helps to read articles that other people wrote, so you can figure out what that “character” (your target customer) sounds like. You can find some of my articles on the ARTICLES page of my Wordfeeder.com website.

All the best with your article marketing endeavors!

Copyright 2006 Dina Giolitto. All rights reserved.

Who in their right mind would go to Mexico for plastic surgery? After all, isn’t it a third world country?

Mexico is not exactly a first world country, but, at least in its metropolitan areas, it is far from a third world country.

It is also home to a fine medical school at the University of Guadalajara, where a lot of American students receive their medical degrees. Guadalajara is also the location of the prestigious Institute of Reconstructive Surgery which has been educating physicians from around the world in the latest surgical techniques for over 35 years.

Guadalajara alone has more than 75 certified plastic surgeons and most of the hospital facilities are first rate. Another benefit is the culture of care you will find in Mexico. Unlike most US doctors who seem to be in an eternal rush to get their patients out of their offices, in Mexico doctors spend time listening to their patients’ needs and responding to their concerns.

Most of the doctors in Mexico speak at least a little English. Many of them have taken graduate courses or have done their internships and/or residencies in the States. Some are Board Certified by US licensing agencies.

In addition to Guadalajara, there are many fine plastic surgeons in Mexico City and the northern city of Monterrey. There are also many clinics along the Texas, Arizona and California borders, but there you are taking a bigger chance that the care will not be first rate. If you are considering a border clinic, take extra care in checking out the physicians and the facilities.

The cost of a face lift in Guadalajara is about $2500 US. A full suite of services including lifting the eyelids and forehead will run about $6000. These include your hospital or clinic stays.

Even Botox injections are substantially cheaper.

There are services such as Airlift, Inc., which is owned by a nurse, which arrange everything for you, from your flight down, your accommodations while in the county and the doctor, nursing and hospital fees.

In many cases, you can arrange to recuperate in a pleasant facility with round the clock nursing care. By the time most of the swelling and bruising are under control, you will be ready to return home with your new look.

There is a downside however. One of the reasons US care is so expensive is malpractice lawsuits. One of the reasons that Mexican procedures are so cheap is that malpractice is not recognized in Mexico. So, if something does go wrong, you will have no recourse.

However, thousands of Americans, Canadian and even residents of South America flock to Mexico every year for face lifts and other cosmetic procedures. I have been living part time in Mexico for over nine years and have many friends who have had successful surgeries.

Check out the credentials of any physician you are considering carefully, Try to get references. If possible visit one of these cities beforehand so that you can become familiar with the facilities available and you can meet with some of the plastic surgeons.

There is a large ex-patriot community in and around these cities. You can always find help and references by visiting with some of these residents, who are among the biggest consumers of this type of care.

If you have a little sense of adventure and wish to save thousands of dollars on cosmetic surgery, Mexico might be the place for you.

For more information on plastic surgery, visit http://www.ageless-beauty.com/ antiaging-cosmetic-procedures.html

Jean Bowler was a ballet dancer and instructor, a teacher, a personal trainer and a cosmetics consultant. She is editor of Ageless Beauty – http://www.ageless-beauty.com

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner which of course makes us think of love, romance and of course flowers! It seems this special day wouldn’t be complete without them. Flowers touch our souls and brighten our spirits which is why they have remained a popular choice for “lovebirds” all over the world!

Depending on your mood and the flowers you pick, you can make this arrangement whimsical or elegant, so gather what you need and let’s get started!

Supplies:

• Store bought heart shaped basket (about 4 inches deep)
• Florist foam
• Plastic lining
• Flowers – at least two varieties
• Larger flowers (all same color) such as carnations or roses for center and filler flowers for accent

Follow these simple steps to create your own Valentine’s Day Centerpiece:

1. Line heart shaped basket with heavy plastic
2. Cut a piece of florist foam in the shape of a heart~ foam should fill up entire basket
3. Soak foam in water and place it in the basket
4. Cut center flowers (carnations or roses) the same depth as the basket or slightly longer
5. Stick these flowers into the foam in the shape of a heart~fill with enough flowers so no foam is showing
6. Cut accent flowers to the same length and fill in around the heart shaped flowers until the basket is completely filled and no foam is showing
7. Flowers should be flush with the top of the basket or slightly higher

Create this centerpiece for yourself or make one for someone you care about. It will be sure to bring a smile to their face because they will know it was made with love!

Happy Valentine’s Day!
Visit me at Valentine’s Day Flowers for all of your gardening and flower delivery needs – for Valentine’s Day and all year long!

© 2005, Candee Stark and Flowers&Garden.com
This article is provided courtesy of http://www.flowers-and-garden.com
- You may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.

Chinese Lanterns are very popular this season and the squad at Chinese Lanterns have immensely relished grabbing out the camera to get lots of pic’s of these beautiful objects Well in all honestness we have been using digital cam’s as opposed to film because of the ease of functioning and manipulation of the photo’s; Instant review and edit of your pics as well as the power to take snaps in the 1000’s in one expedition! Makes a nice alternative from the mere 24 snaps my old Kodak instamatic could cope with. Video capture is now a handy bundled extra for some unprepared Spielberg moments and is littering the webspace known as YouTube as you digest this.I bought a camera last week and can confirm to you it was not a decision I made lightly With so many brands models and technical features to come to grips with and that’s before taking into account the reviews that oftentimes feature contradictory information to some extent. It can be a bit difficult at the best of times. I found that using a site like dpreview.com is very handy as this site separates the camera by features, price, and popularity It also offers for the most part independent reviews and invaluable reader feedback. But after all that the decison does literally and figuratively rest in your grip.and the only way to know what works for you is to visit a storehouse and get clicking to find a camera that suits.

By exercising your Transversus Abdominus Muscle. This is the muscle in your abdomen that holds your stomach in giving you the flat belly look. This muscle acts like a corset around your tummy by holding your tummy in and if the muscle is weak, your belly will be distended more easily making your tummy looking much bigger than it should just like having a beer belly. This is one of the reasons why people have pot belly or beer belly besides simply blaming it on tummy fat. This is the muscle that can help you get that flat stomach look. If you want to get that flat stomach look, you must strengthen this muscle.

Just to have a feel of how this muscle work, try blowing out all the air in your lungs and pull your tummy in. There, you have just used your transversus abdominus muscle to execute that movement.

Start the exercise by exhaling all the air from your lungs hard. At the same time, pull in your tummy as tight as you can and at the same time visualizing your belly button is about to touch your spine. Do breathe lightly in that position and hold the posture for about 45 seconds. Then repeat the exercise for a few more sets. You will then be teaching your abs muscle to continuously hold your tummy in giving you flat stomach look.

The beauty of this exercise is that you carry it out everywhere and anywhere without ever going to the gym. It is so discreet that people will not even notice you exercising even when you are waiting for the office lift or at your desk at work.

A more effective version of this exercise would require you to be on all fours in a crawling position. Then execute the exercise as described above except that this time, you are on your hands and feet. Do both exercises every other day and when combined with a fat loss routine of a proper diet, weight training and cardio exercises, you will get that flat stomach look in no time along with that glorious six pack abs.

The Fetal Welfare Scan, commonly referred to as the Well Being Scan is a medical check that is usually carried out on mothers to be the 14th week of pregnancy. The London Ultrasound Central in London has vast experience in overseeing this important examination. The Welfare Scan entails determining the size of the baby’s head, waist and femur (leg bone). The excellent, highly trained staff at The London Ultrasound Centre will then incorporate detailed charts to see how they collate with measurements that had been taken on a prior occasion. This will afford the medical staff, the midwife and obstetrician, an opportunity to monitor the rate at which the unborn child in the womb may be progressing during pregnancy.

It is standard procedure during a Fetal Welfare Scan for the sonographer or consultant to ascertain the diameter and circumference of the child’s head, along with determining the size of the baby’s waist. The London Ultrasound Centre’s brilliant medical team will also, in the course of varying out The Well Being Scan, check the mother’s placenta, as well as measure how much fluid may be found round the child’s head. It will also monitor how the baby is moving in the womb, along with monitoring the level of blood flowing in the umbilical artery.

These are a number of the checks carried out by The London Ultrasound Centre.

It is a close race, one that likely will not result in deep price cutting to move models, but is certain nevertheless to be on the minds of executives employed by two automakers until the clock strikes midnight for the final time this year. What the race is all about is this: the perennial sales battle between two German automakers, BMW and Mercedes, with BMW expected to pass Mercedes in world sales totals for 2005. The ramifications are strong for each automaker and will set the tone for the way each company produces and markets vehicles from 2006 forward.

Mercedes finishing second to BMW is not a comfortable taste for DaimlerChrysler, parent of Mercedes and now owner of The Chrysler Group, maker of Jeeps, Dodges, and Chryslers. Only Volkswagen sells more cars than either make, but when it comes to a predominately luxury line up Mercedes and BMW battle alone amongst German makes with Audi a distant third.

Unlike American automakers, Mercedes is not likely to engage in deep price cuts to attract customers and “steal” sales that they would have made in 2006 for 2005 to stave off BMW. Still, purchasers of Mercedes vehicles should find an even friendlier showroom in which to shop when they negotiate the price on their “C”, “E”, or “M” Classes of vehicles.

So, exactly what has caused the shift in sales? Well, published reports indicate that Mercedes sales continue to rise, but slowly. On the other hand, BMW sales increases are in the double digit category which is what has pushed BMW ahead of Mercedes so far this year. Oddly, it isn’t the luxury cars in each automakers’ fold that is spelling the difference. Unknown to many Americans, both BMW and Mercedes sell cars that are smaller and less luxurious than the cars that appear in the states. Cars that compete squarely against Volkswagen’s Golf and offerings from GM, Ford, several Japanese automakers, and others.

Yes, it is true. Not all BMW or Mercedes models are luxury cars. Unlike in the US where a Cadillac is exclusively a luxury car, both German brands produce cars for the rank and file driver too. It is these types of cars that have fueled both automakers growth and is likely behind BMW jumping ahead of Mercedes.

To counter BMW’s surge, Mercedes does have an ace up its sleeve: the introduction of one or two smaller lines of cars to the U.S. market by 2007. If you haven’t figured it out yet, Mercedes has “A” and “B” Class cars that are smaller and less expensive than the current “baby” Mercedes, what we call the “C” Class. Mercedes hopes that the US market is ready for less pricey cars sporting the venerable Mercedes name and that these sales will propel Mercedes back into the lead.

Of course, what is good for Mercedes is good for BMW as the automaker explores bringing its “1″ and “2″ series cars to the US to compete for sales. Both lines of cars are positioned against Mercedes “A” and “B” class cars and are the same cars that have bumped BMW’s sales figures up.

Now if only Mercedes would consider importing it’s SMART car to the US market…

Matt Keegan is a contributing writer for the
Race Pages, a supplier of quality

BMW window motors,

BMW air filters, and

AEM cold air intakes at discount prices.

There is no doubt that love for some celebrity exists within us all. This isn’t the traditional definition of love but rather defined by an excessive admiration for a famous person whom we will probably never meet. The use of “love” is appropriate here as we who love celebrity tend to exhibit signs of undue influence by those highly visible. Famous people, the non-elected representatives of the human race, have always held some influence over the masses. In the days before mass media, television sets and computers fame was circulated orally, carried by the gossipy nature of social beings. Today, we open our eyes and cannot avoid these people. Of course, in a developed society entertainers are necessary. We laugh and sometimes cry at a quality performance. Our memories are seared with images, movies and songs which have touched us, frightened us and stimulated us. They dramatize the political, the romantic, the good and bad. We see in them the potential for perfection of man or woman as an expression of utopian ideals of love and success.

Yet, have we gone too far? How much influence should they have over us? Our choice of clothes, jewelry and hairstyle, our languages and ideas are often areas that we look toward celebrities to define. If you deny this then you are exceptional; the rest of us are invariably, more susceptible. Our culture has become saturated with celebrity influence. We watch their every move including who they are with and what they do. We absorb their politics and gobble up their quotes. We think about what it may be like to be that beautiful, rich and powerful. Fame is an aphrodisiac or so it seems to the unrecognized. Today we have TomKat(Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes). Yesterday it was Bennifer(Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez). Public Interest in these people is frighteningly obsessive in nature. After all, their claim to fame is usually based on pretense or non reality. They are the constant pretenders, illusionists with screens as their canvas.

The entertainment value of a celebrity stretches beyond the screen or stage and they are wholly aware it. We are witness to carefully arranged relationships, sudden sightings in sports arenas and controversial quotes days before a new movie or show opens. They appear on your screen suddenly seemingly not to promote themselves but rather attempting to come across as natural, likable, smart and funny. Sometimes we get a glimpse into what certain celebrities are really like. Unfortunately, it is usually when they do something wrong. Drugs, infidelity and physical assaults are a few areas where celebrities have slipped in their public presentation. Mug shots and unflattering photos of famous people are the currency of entertainment news outlets. Being a celebrity has its drawback in this regard as they are monitored as closely as governmental heads of the biggest nations on earth. Alas, the power of celebrity is here with us to stay. Or is it? Can we teach our children who the chancellor of Germany is before we explain the history of Madonna? If we can’t, America will become a nation of uninformed celebrity worshippers numb to the more important realities of the world.

Derek Belay works for www.jewelrypayless.com“>Jewelry Payless.com and KingIce.com as a marketing manager.

We were three days from closing on a 45-day escrow. I was working with a first-time buyer who was becoming more and more anxious as the closing date grew nearer. Then, I received a call from the listing agent. Her client, an “experienced” investor, wanted to perform a 1031 Tax-Deferred Exchanged.

“What,” I asked her. “Now you tell us?”

To say the least, I was pretty disappointed with the agent because from the beginning, I brought the subject up and she continuously told me her client didn’t want to perform one.

“Is your client performing a 1031 Exchange,” I asked her on one occasion.

“Are you sure he’s not performing a 1031 Exchange,” I asker her on another. “He’s purchasing another property. He’s going to get killed on taxes!”

Finally, I just came out and asked, “You did discuss an Exchange with your client, right?”

On each occasion, she assured me it had been discussed and he just didn’t want to perform one. She also made it clear that she had been in real estate for a number of years and knew what she was doing. The case was closed for me! It’s in her hands now.

For those who may not know, a 1031 Tax-Deferred Exchange (also known as a “1031″ or “Exchange”) is the method for exchanging one investment property for another one, while deferring the possible capital gains tax. The financial gain you would realize can be deferred as long as you follow the rules set out by IRS Code 1031where the name comes fromand you use proper professionals who know and understand the process. They should also be able to explain the process to you and help you follow your requirements under the code. This is important because if there are any mistakes made, you could be left holding the legal and financial bag. That financial bag would be in the form of a healthy tax consequence levied by Uncle Sam! If used correctly, this a true wealth-preserving tool.

Fortunately, we were working with an experienced escrow officer. Early in the escrow period, she looked at me and asked, “Why the hell is he not doing a 1031? I know he’s purchasing another investment property!”

That was an answer I could not give her…until the call from the listing agent.

It turned out her “experienced” investor didn’t even know what an Exchange was.

Because my escrow officer was experienced, she knew exactly what to do. In fact, it was as if she knew what was coming. She set up a Delayed Exchange and we only had to close a few days later than scheduled, at no additional cost to my client. She was a lifesaver! If it weren’t for her, this situation could have turned out differently.

If an investor can only get one thing from this story it is this: If you do not perform a 1031 Tax-Deferred Exchangeor any other equivalent wealth-preserving toolyou might as well place tens of thousands of dollars in a cute box, wrap it up nicely, put a pretty bow on it, and give it to Uncle Sam!

Lawrence D. Elliott has been a Realtor® for over 16 years and provides professional representation for clients in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties. He can be reached direct at 1-888-810-SOLD. He also runs a network of real estate web sites, which can be accessed through his main site at http://www.LawrenceElliott.com

Before we begin, know that our goal is to give you as much useful information as we can fit on our page.

With the surge of interest in spas and spa practices like massage, facials, saunas, and acupuncture among landlubbers, it’s no wonder that more cruise lines are starting to incorporate spa services into their normal on-deck beauty amenities. The addition of spa services means that travelers can take a luxury cruise to a far-flung location like Bali without losing the comforts of home, and the refreshing services of their local spa.

Crystal Cruise lines is a chief in spa vacations within the luxury cruise dispatch experience. On timber the gemstone Symphony, the 5,000 straight foot gemstone Spa and store offers beauty, vigor and spa services. The Symphony’s spa adheres to the principles of feng shui and offers ocean views throughout its gathering and gym. Guests can take from aerobic, yoga or Pilates classes, open weights, and private training. gemstone Symphony also offers a specially-tailored food for those who want to keep a exclusive diet during their cruise vacation.

Spa vacations have also been incorporated into cruising post with Silversea Cruises and renown Cruises. The renown Millennium skin an AquaSpa SM aboard the ship, with a 25,000-square-foot service with 16 therapy rooms and a vigor center with panoramic views.Services existing at the spa enter manicures, facials, and massages. At the vigor center, guests can take a vigor class and hire a private trainer.

We have had a lot of fun during the first portion of this article and hopefully you feel as though you have a firm grasp on the topic.

Silversea Cruises’ spa vacations are run by the prominent Mandara Spa, which offers a comprehensive list of fitness, beauty and spa treatments on all Silversea cruise ships. Guests can take from an extraordinary spa menu incorporating exotic, classic and cutting-edge fitness and beauty programs. In this way, passengers get a risk to explore different sorts of spa amenities while they explore the exotic ports of call on their itineraries.

Knowing the ins and outs of this topic will help you to fully understand the importance of this entire subject. http://www.health-spa-vacation-resort.com/

Valipat Munpan is The Webmaster Of The Long Term Lifestyle Change Health
Spa Vacation Benefits For Healthier – Quickly and Easily! www.health-spa-vacation-resort.com/