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When you hear the term "Outdoor Living" what is the first thing that pops into your mind; picnic tables, plastic mismatched chairs and the smell of burgers cooking on the hibachi. For many living outdoors confines them and their thoughts to a small patio area with a couple of old plants and their college patio furniture. In today's world outdoor living means pushing out the walls and extending the living space to include the outdoors way beyond the patio.

As the real estate market fluctuates, homeowners look to remodel their homes and include projects to create outdoor livings spaces for optimum comfort and pleasure. With billions spent on remodeling in the US alone after upgrading the kitchen and bathrooms, upgrading the outside of a home comes in third on the project list. By taking advantage of your backyard and extending the living and entertaining areas, not only increases living space, but also helps raise the property value.

It is amazing how many things used indoors now can also be used outdoors as well!

Components for Creating an Outdoor Living environment:

The Outdoor kitchen - this type of cooking appliance can be a simple BBQ to a complete built in gas bar-b-que including the sink for clean up and refrigerator for the cold beer and beverages.

Patio Furniture - the focal point of many outdoor patio areas is the furniture. Outdoor dining tables and chairs cover the range of simple inexpensive plastic chairs and tables to metal and teak outdoor dining furniture. The selection and price range is wide as I have been looking for some sling style chairs for my patio.

heating - as you move northward the use of your outside area can be reduced from cooler temperatures. However, outdoor fireplaces, firepits and patio heaters can solve the cool issue and extend our outdoor season later into the fall or crank it spring earlier in the year. light adds a wonderful ambiance and it does not need to only come from a fire the use of landscape lighting can do the trick.

Covering the Patio - the blazing summer sun can turn a fun outdoor party into a place everyone wants to get away from. A partially covered area where the cooking and dining areas are located creates a wonderful shaded retreat from the boiling sun and unexpected weather which can pop up. Decks are also a popular way to dress up a patio along with adding interesting stones, rocks, planters and flowers to create drama.

Remember these items are basics to get a list started, personal style, budget and family needs must also come into play. The only true design limits or restriction is the wallet and imagination. The above items get you started, adding a pool, waterfall and landscaped areas only add to the overall outdoor living space making it more inviting. projects do not need to happen all at once but build over time. The true benefit is that whatever and however you choose fits you and your living style.

Extend your landscape using outdoor landscaping lights Join Thomas Fryd as he shares his 25 plus years of experience in the world of plants and landscape at www.Plant-Care.com where you get practical professional advice on landscaping and houseplant care.

You might be misled by people to believe about the existence of an easy quick guide to win at video parker. But the fact is no such way exists. Learn the strategies the traditional way in order to win at video poker. There is not much difference between poker played on table and that played online. The electronic poker has the same rules. A great recreational site I came across is http://www.cmminformation.com.

It entirely depends on the strategy and anyone be it a professional or an amateur has to learn them. These poker games are not like those nintendo games where in you sought for your opponents head to wag to beat them. These games are programmed and designed pretty robust and there are no easy tricks to win.

I dont say that winning is an impossibility at video poker. The winning strategies can be learnt just like any other version of this amazing card game. You only need to have a thorough knowledge of the strategies. Unfortunately, these are complex mathematical strategies.

The old gambling songs is true as it says you have to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away and know when to run. You have an option to walk way while trying video poker. You never have to run but it all comes to the strategy about the thing.

The initial task to perform when you wish to win at video poker is the study of some basic mathematics. Yes, math. Trust me; a strong foundation in statistics can help you more than anything else in winning at poker. Regardless of you wishing to win at video poker or gain entry at the world Texas Hold em championship, its good to know the odds and conditions when to bet. Every single player around the table at a world Series of poker game is definitely a math maestro. You have to match them if you swish to win at video poker.

David Corey writes for http://www.ourpressreleases.com and http://www.informationinquiry.com

In the Journal of Neuroscience, November, 2004, researchers at Northwestern University, concluded that sufferers of chronic back pain had brains that aged 20 times that of normal healthy folks.

They went further and reported that the brains of those with chronic back pain had as much as 11% brain shrinkage. It is gray matter that is lost, which is responsible for information processing (I.Q), and memory.

The leading researcher, A. Vania Apkanian, said the average healthy person loses 0.5% of gray matter annually, but having sciatica, chronic back pain, produces 10 to 20 years of normal aging. The longer one suffers from chronic back pain (years), larger the brain loss. Yes, really.

The reason for brain shrinkage appears to be the almost permanent state of a negative mood and attitude, and the stress associated with it. Apkanian believes brain shrinkage (loss of gray matter), is a result of nerve cells in a constant state of activity they are overworked to the extreme.

He concludes, that the longer the back pain persists, the greater its irreversibility because the brain structures and functions change permanently.

What is New?

In 2006, Dr. sean Mackey, Stanford University, reported a different approach in the Proceedings of the national Academy of Sciences.

Dealing with chronic back pain, his research indicates that patients looking at their own live brain scans can learn to control pain activation.

There are two brain systems involved in pain - pain perception and pain modulation. Wait there is no single pain center, but 5-10 areas that transmit pain feedback.

Here is the killer conclusion of Dr. Mackey, top-gun at Stanford Medical school:

Pain modulation (change, alteration), is triggered by BELIEF. A placebo (sugar pill or an injection of plain water), can shut down the pain, while a nocibo (belief in harm), will augment the pain, when your brain is convinced you are being hurt.

How Come?

The brain releases its endogenous (originating from within), endorphins (pleasure hormones), an opiate-like substance.

The reason a placebo works is the brain releases a chemical that attaches to our Mu Opioid Receptors. Get this fake opiates cause the brain to produce its own real ones in response. It is the bandwagon effect.

Does Believing in Change Cause Change in Reality?

The answer is yes, with practice, as the mind unites with the body.

It appears to be a brain thing called the power of suggestion. The same one used in hypnosis and auto-suggestion, where you convince yourself.

A physician telling a group of patients in an experiment, that the pain they were feeling would positively be relieved by their (placebo) medication, resulted in 99% effectiveness. We believe in the authority and his/her expertise. It sounds weird, but our belief changes our state-of-mind, which in turn alters our body receptors.

Hold it! Thinking about pain produces physical changes in our - pain, no-pain - perception. It is visible on the fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imagery), and is not a schizophrenic episode.

They have zeroed in on the area that produces human awareness of our mind-numbing pain it is called - rostral Anterior Cingulate Cotex (rACC). We can see it in action, in living color, on the fMRI, and see it modulated by our Prefrontal Cortex, the brain area that makes decisions.

The scientists do not claim they know why cognitive effort can reduce the activation of the rACC, it just does. Thinking too deeply about the why, delivers us to the realm of Huh? We are rational creatures motivated by emotion, let us not go any further.

Soft Wired

You have heard that our genes make us hard-wired, we come to life preprogrammed to a substantial degree.

Another reality is that our brain is Soft-Wired, (plastic), so that we can learn. When we learn it is followed by structural and functional changes in our brain. Practice, according to the experts, can reduce pain an average of 64%, no mean trick.

One more once what you believe and expect, creates your reality. It does not alter the world, only your world. Another thing we do not know a whit about the source of consciousness. It is not neurons firing, but depends on our neurons that are wired together, to fire together.

Endwords

It is intuitive that having a positive attitude is better than holding a belief that you will fail. We are at the next threshold of reason what you actively believe, mentally visualize and expect come to pass in your brain, and perhaps in your motivations and behaviors.

Professor William James, 1890, at Harvard, created the Law of As-If. Whatever your mind consistently thinks and feels drives your brain to discover and bring to pass. If you Act, Think, Feel and Believe AS-IF you have already obtain the goal you are chasing it is a direction to both hemispheres of your brain to attract it.

The latest research states that folks with chronic back pain have annual brain shrinkage of an extra 1.3%. That is far too much. We have over 100 billion brain cells, so it is not an immediate ticket to Alzheimers, but it does you no good.

Here is the core of it meditation, hypnosis, distractions, mental visualizations, and placebos all offer a method to train the brain to obey our prefrontal cortex our active consciousness. It works for me personally, to reduce pain, and enhance healing.

It is your assignment to check it out. The Indian charkas are real, seven subtle areas of energy that can be manipulated by acupressure and acupuncture to help you heal faster, and reduce pain. My personal favorite is daily chanting Uh-(as in Accountant, OO (as in Book), and Mng as in Mee-ing (Uh-OO-Mng) for 20 minutes twice a day. google Mudras (hand gestures), too

Now I know that you are far too busy to find a total of forty minutes daily to maintain your health, reduce if not eliminate pain, and actively live to age 90.

Deal-Or-No-Deal?

See ya,

copyright
H. Bernard Wechsler
www.speedlearning.org
hbw@speedlearning.org

Author of Speed Reading For Professionals, published by Barron's Educational, original partner of Evelyn Wood, creator of speed reading, graduating 2 million, including the White House staff of four U.S. Presidents.

A lot of golfers really battle to hit straight drives and getting off to a good start is such a confidence booster. There is nothing better than a good drive at the start of a round of golf. You will have a great day if you can hit straight drives off every tee.

The secret to straight driving is technique and confidence. If you have ever hit a straight drive then you can do it again. Its in there somewhere and all you have to do is find it and repeat it time and time again.

many a bad tee shot is the result of tension especially on the first tee of an important round or when there is a crowd around. The result is the player gets tense and so the whole body, starting from the grip and going right through the arms, legs and torso, is overcome with tension. The result can be embarrassing and shake a players confidence.

Remember when playing that the woods are a little bit longer than the irons and therefore a slightly flatter swing plane is required (dont adjust for this because of this article!). In many cases pulling out the driver is a habit and is sometimes not even required. If you have a 350 meter/yard hole you can probably easy take two six irons to get there. Why make it more difficult by playing a driver?

A very good way of grooving the swing and getting confidence to hit straight drives regularly is to practice with a shortened back swing. When you go to the range shorten your back swing to 75%. Make sure you accelerate evenly through the ball and make a full follow through.

As you do this more and more at practice your big muscles will groove themselves to perform the same when you go back to a full swing. Try it youll be amazed at the results. You may even find that with a shortened back swing the loss in distance (if any) is so negligible that with the extra accuracy it is not worth worrying about.

Standing on the first tee knowing that you will be in play after your tee shot is a huge confidence booster. No-one ever worries about who plays the second shot first yet we all want to smack the longest drive. funny thing the ego (intended for the men out there ladies dont seem to worry about this too much).

Give it a try I guarantee you will hit straight drives more often than you do at the moment.

As a qualified EGTF golf professional teacher I get great pleasure in helping people improve their game. Why not head over to Better Golfing and take up my challenge to reduce your golf handicap by 25% within 6 weeks?

The secret to successful weight loss is a winning combination of efficient exercise, a healthy lifestyle and smart eating. Each one by itself, with total disregard for the other is a sure recipe for disaster and frustration. Going on a starvation diet while spending time on your couch glued to the TV is as fattening as running a few hundred laps round the track and then tucking into a bowl of creamy chocolate mousse.

Moderation and consistency are keys to successful long-term weight loss. Make a doable plan and stick to it. Dont rush out to buy hundreds of pounds worth of fitness equipment in an attempt to look as svelte as the model advertising for it. Youd just end up losing the wrong pounds.

Here then are a few weight loss tips that are simple and easy to keep up with:

Act now: Thinking yourself thin is great for the psyche but that fat will not budge till you actually act

Set realistic goals: Aim to lose weight slowly and healthily. Weight loss does not happen in a day. It takes months of consistent exercise and proper eating.

Shake a leg: Make sure you get at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day. Dont start pounding the pavements if the thought horrifies you. Youre more likely to give up an activity that you do not like. Instead could join an aerobics class, go swimming with the kids or join a belly dancing class. Anything that gets your heart-rate up.

Watch what you eat: A moment on the lips; a lifetime on the hips. Every mouthful counts when you are trying to lose weight. Eat smaller meals more frequently. Increase your intake of fruits, vegetables and complex carbohydrates. Refined carbohydrates such as white breads, cookies and cakes have empty calories that you could do without.

Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of good old fashioned water- it helps the muscles stay hydrated and flushes out those unwanted toxins. 8 glasses of water a day is the minimum recommended amount.

Get your zzzs : Unless you are a sleepwalker you are unlikely to be eating while sleeping. So go ahead and sleep your weight off. It will leave you more refreshed the next day and you will have more energy for another round of beach volleyball.

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