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So you are interested in the world of politics but do not know where to find a good daily politics blog. In this article I will provide you with the best method for finding the blogs you want to read. I will not tell you what to read, I will tell you how to find a political blog you want to read -one that suits your specific tastes.

If you know essentially nothing about the world of political blogging you should understand a few things right off the bat.

Firstly, a daily politics blog can come in one of two forms. The first type is the kind most people probably think a political blog looks like. It is the “personal blog”. It is made by one individual. The second type is the corporate type. It is like a company as it has several writers or “contributors” who make up the daily blog into what is very similar to an online newspaper.

Secondly, the thing you need to know right away upon entering the politics blog universe is that the vast majority of political blogs are biased or at least “lean” one way or another -they are opinionated news. There are however many politics blogs that take a non-partisan or neutral approach to their blogging. Remember, this kind of blog might be articulating a point of view just like partisan blogs.

Finally, the most important thing to do, in my opinion, is to do research on the political blogs you start reading. If the blog is a personal one try to understand where they are coming from. If the blog is a corporate one look them up on Wikipedia. See who owns them and possibly which way they “lean” (left or right for instance).

Alright, so now that you are schooled in spotting blog types and their content you can start searching for a great daily politics blog.

I suggest you immediately figure out what kinds of political blogs you want to follow before you start following them. You should have an idea of what you are trying to accomplish by reading a blog online. Are you trying to educate yourself? Are you looking for other people who will articulate your shared positions on politics? Or maybe you want to act like a media analyst by looking at daily politics blogs on both sides of the political spectrum!

Whatever you are looking for and wherever you might be on the political spectrum, there is really only one final step to finding a great blog you can follow every day and it involves Google.

Search Google for the words “politics blog” (or blogs) or “political blogs” (or blogs) while combining a word that specifies exactly what kind of material you want to see. For example, if you are a life long Republican in the United States you might want to put “conservative” or “Republican” in front of politics blog. If you are a centrist you might want to type “moderate” or “centrist” at the beginning. What you put in addition to the first words is up to you and will depend on your political views.

Using Google is the best way for newbies to get settled in to the political blogging world as the first page results are usually the more established personal and corporate blogs. Since so many mainly personal political blogs die in their first year (people just stop writing), using Google is the ideal first step. Keep in mind you can use other search engines but Google superior in my humble opinion.

Happy reading!

The author of this article, Tyler, is a political enthusiast and writer of a politics blog who has reported on the unemployment rate by Canadian provinces.

Health insurance lead generation systems provide a stead stream of potential clients for health insurance brokers. Health insurance leads are considered to be people who may need health coverage to supplement the health coverage provided by their employer. A health insurance lead can also be someone who is self-employed and needs to obtain coverage for themselves or their entire family. Health insurance brokers rely on health insurance leads systems to supply them with enough potential clients to keep their business going. There are a large number of people who either need additional coverage or are in business for themselves and need an individual or family health insurance plan.

Health insurance lead services are available at a reasonable cost to health insurance brokers. Typically, health insurance leads companies will charge an annual or monthly fee for the leads and account maintenance. When considering a health insurance lead system, it is best to look for one that offers an unlimited amount of leads for one low monthly fee. Some companies that provide health insurance leads charge a per-lead fee. Make sure the leads are guaranteed for you money back or at least a guarantee that the company will replace them free of additional charges.

The way it works is through referral systems. The qualified health insurance lead fills out a form on the health insurance leads provider’s website. Upon receipt of the form, the lead service emails the health insurance agent the information submitted by the health insurance lead. The health insurance agent then contacts the health insurance lead via email or phone and provides them with a quote on the type of health insurance coverage they are looking for. In order to obtain the most qualified health insurance leads, health insurance brokers can give the leads service company specific information about the types of coverage offered.

Many health insurance lead generation systems come with automated email follow-ups. It is important for the insurance agent to contact the health insurance leads as soon as possible. Some of the health insurance leads are provided to more than one insurance agent. With the cost of health care constantly rising, the health insurance industry is very competitive and timing could make the difference between success and failure. With a consistent health insurance lead generation system and quick follow-ups, a steady stream of high quality leads will continue to come in. This could give you a huge advantage over the competition.

For more information, visit:
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Online holiday shopping is more popular than ever. Online shoppers know that shopping on the internet for great holiday gifts is convenient, time-saving and safe. Not to mention the huge selection of unique gifts not always available in stores. Not surprisingly, shopping for children’s furniture online has become the preferred method of selecting wonderful bedroom décor products. Parents can visit dozens of childrens’ bedroom showrooms and browse hundreds of wonderful kids room artwork all from the comfort of home. Listed here are 5 essential tips for shopping online for childrens’ furniture this holiday season:

• User Friendly Site Organization including Lists by Price, Age or Theme - Choose to shop at a childrens’ furniture webstore that offers easy site navigation, a search function and special categories with products arranged by price, child’s age or theme.
• Detailed Pictures & Product Descriptions - When purchasing childrens’ bedroom furniture by catalog or online, you are making your buying decision from photos and product descriptions. Make sure the webstore you choose to shop at has clear, detailed pictures of the items, including close-up and alternate views. It is also helpful if the webstore offers a picture of the items displayed in a complete bedroom ensemble so that you can visualize how the items might look in your child’s bedroom. Read the product descriptions carefully for aspects not readily visible in photos.
• Return Policy – Always check the webstore policies for the company’s return and exchange policy. A 14 day or longer return or exchange period is reasonable for childrens’ bedroom furniture. Note that it is typical business practice for shipping costs to be non-refundable, personalized and customized items to be non-refundable and for items purchased on sale to be considered final sale and not subject to return or refund.
• Contact Info – Always make sure the webstore you shop at has some way to contact a real person. A great webstore will offer several ways of contact including by email, phone and a physical address. You should feel welcome and encouraged to call the company with questions concerning their products or policies. If you cannot easily reach someone to answer a question, beware before purchasing.
• Press or Media Exposure - Companies spend time and resources to get their products into the media and press. This shows a commitment to their business and their products. Companies that have been featured in the media are chosen because they offer something unique or special. Press often require product samples or meet with company representatives prior to the feature, giving credibility to the webstore and products. Feel free to check the company’s press page for a listing of recent media features.

http://www.RosenberryRooms.com is the leading online shop for childrens’ furniture, kids art and bedroom décor, offering the largest selection of high-quality childrens’ bedroom products. Find all the essential features to shopping online noted above and everything you need to create a beautiful bedroom for your child at http://www.RosenberryRooms.com

What are the benefits of sending a child to a traditional summer camp? Should you select a summer day camp or an overnight summer camp?

Positive summer day camp or overnight summer camp experiences can be of tremendous benefit to your child’s development. While at a traditional summer camp, either a summer day camp or overnight summer camp, children learn about themselves, learn to be more independent, are expected to live up to expectations and help out younger campers.

A good traditional summer camp program can help increase a child’s self-esteem, teach them respect for others, enable them to learn self-respect and also learn tolerance of others. Living in a group situation, as in an overnight summer camp, campers learn to accept differences such as race, religious beliefs and cultural differences. Both types of traditional summer camps offer benefits that will help your children grow and mature and broaden their horizons.

When you receive a traditional summer camp’s brochure, you will invariably have questions for the camp director about the camp philosophy as well as that of the director. From that first phone call and/or visit to the web site, you begin developing an impression of what a particular traditional summer camp is like and how it’s run.

A traditional summer camp may be described in nothing less than glowing terms in its brochures. The setting can be absolutely breathtaking. Activities offered by the camp may run the gamut from racquetball to modern dance. In the end, however, it’s the human equation of how those activities are operated and conducted that determines the quality of the summer day camp or overnight summer camp program. Remember the marketing materials for traditional summer camps are designed to make you want to send your child there!

Get to know the camp director as a person through telephone conversations, correspondence and if possible, a personal visit. Have the director describe the camp’s philosophy and how it is carried out by the staff. Find out if you have the option of sending your child for summer day camp or overnight summer camp. Ask how many years the director has been at that camp and also find out the total number of years he or she has worked as a traditional summer camp director.

How Much Is It Going To Cost?

One of the biggest questions facing parents when they consider sending a child to a traditional summer camp is the cost. The cost of a traditional summer camp, whether a summer day camp or overnight summer camp, can be substantial especially if there is more than camp-age child. American Camping Association accredited overnight summer camps and summer day camps offer price ranges to fit every budget. While not always the case, if a non-traditional summer camp is designed for a very specialized group of campers, it may be more expensive than traditional summer camps, which are also often called adventure camps.

The cost of a traditional summer camp per week will probably also figure into how many weeks of summer day camp or overnight summer camp your child(ren) will attend. The American Camping Association reports the among its accredited camps, both summer day camps and overnight summer camps, the prices for a week of summer day camp or overnight summer camp ranges from $75 per week to $650 per week.

There are some ways to save money, even if it is not obvious from reading the camp brochure or visiting the camp’s website.

The first question you should ask is whether or not financial assistance is available to help subsidize the tuition costs. It’s not uncommon for all kinds of summer day camps and overnight summer camps to set aside a certain number of spots for families who might not otherwise be able to afford to send their child to traditional summer camp. If they don’t offer to subsidize the full cost of the camp session, they may pay part of it.

Although scholarships for traditional summer camp programs are usually available on the basis of need, there may be extra unclaimed subsidized spots which the camp will allow your child to fill. You won’t know, though, unless you ask. If you are hoping to receive a scholarship or other type of financial assistance, it’s a good idea to apply early before all the slots are taken.

Another way to save on the cost of traditional summer camp is to find out if special discounts are available. Often summer day camps or overnight summer camps will offer a discounted tuition price for early registration, for siblings attending the same camp, or for signing your child up for a particular session of the summer camp program. Again, if you don’t ask, you won’t know what your options are.

What is included in the tuition cost?

Typically, transportation is included as part of the cost for summer day camps. Resident or overnight summer camps may offer transportation from a central location or may require the campers to be delivered to the campground. If the overnight summer camp program includes trips, movies, laundry service, snack bar, special equipment or other costs, find out if they are included in the cost, if your need to pay a separate additional fee, or if you should send extra money with your child to camp.

What is the refund policy?

Refund policies vary greatly from camp to camp. Some refunds cover only illness of the child, while some will give a total refund if it is requested prior to a certain date. Some camps may return all but a registration or administrative fee and some may not offer refunds at all.

What is the camp’s philosophy and program emphasis?

Each traditional summer camp has its own method of constructing programs based on its philosophy. Does it complement your own parenting philosophy? Are the activities at the summer day camp or overnight summer camp of interest to your child? Many traditional summer camps actively promote competition and healthy rivalry among camp teams, as reflected in team sports. For many campers this is pure fun. Some parents feel that learning to be competitive at an early age teaches essential survival skills. However, other parents and educators are in favor of cooperative learning. Research has shown that noncompetitive methods encourage young people to learn more, retain it longer, and develop greater self-esteem and appreciation for others. Knowing your child’s personality and style of learning is valuable in selecting the right summer day camp or overnight summer camp.

What is the camp director’s background?

American Camping Association (ACA) minimum standards recommend directors possess a bachelor’s degree, have completed in-service training within the past three years, and have at least 16 weeks of camp administrative experience before assuming the responsibilities of director.

What training do counselors receive?

At a minimum, camp staff should be trained in safety regulations, emergency procedures and communication, behavior management techniques, child abuse prevention, appropriate staff and camper behavior, and specific procedures for supervision. Often traditional summer camp counselors are college students working toward degrees in various sports-related and human services fields.

What is the counselor-to-camper ratio?

ACA standards require different ratios for varying ages and special needs. Generally, the ratios at overnight summer camps range from one staff for every six campers ages 7 and 8; one staff for every eight campers ages 9 to 14; and one staff for every 10 campers ages 15 to 17. At day camps the ratios range from one staff for every eight campers ages 6 to 8; one staff for every 10 campers ages 9 to 14; and one staff for every 12 campers ages 15 to 17.

What are the ages of the counselors?

ACA standards recommend that 80 percent or more of the counseling/program staff be at least 18 years old. Staff must be at least 16 years old and be at least two years older than the campers with whom they work.

The number and types of programs a particular traditional summer camp offers may also impact the ages of the counselors. Academic camps and other specialty camps may require camp counselors to have a particular level of education or number of years of experience or training.

What percentage of the counselors returned from last year?

Most traditional summer camps have from 40-60 percent returning staff. If the rate is lower, find out the reasons why there isn’t a higher number of staff who return to work at the camp each year.

How are behavioral and disciplinary problems handled?

Are the behavioral expectations clearly laid out and available to campers in advance? They should also be reviewed with the campers on the first day of camp. It’s also important to know the disciplinary steps that will be taken for violation of the rules.

What is the style and personality of the camp director? How much authority do the camp counselors have? These are all important questions to ask because you want to be sure the camp behavior standards and disciplinary policies are a good fit for your child and your family.

What if a child becomes ill, is injured or has a special need?

Find out if trained medical personnel are resident in the camp at all times, especially overnight summer camps. A nurse or other medical professional will be able to tell if an injury is serious and requires more intensive medical attention. You’ll want a professional available if a child becomes ill or needs medical attention in the middle of the night.

If your child has allergies or is insulin-dependent, there should be a designated place for the medication to be stored in a locked container. It should be administered only by trained staff. If your child requires a special diet, find out if the camp is able or willing to accommodate their dietary needs. The wrong answer to any of these considerations can be potentially life-threatening.

Even a child who has slept away from home in the past may become homesick, or simply have trouble adjusting to the overnight summer camp during the first few days. Find out from the director how homesickness is handled by the staff and let your child know what their recourse is if they feel lonely or have trouble adjusting.

Is the camp American Camp Association accredited? Why or why not?

American Camp Association accredited camps undergo extensive scrutiny and must meet very high standards to be accredited. Accreditation reviewers ask over 300 questions about the camp and staff including essential health and safety issues, program quality and the camp’s overall operation and functioning.

What about camp references?

Every summer day camp or overnight summer camp will sound like a dream when you read the brochure or visit the website. Ask the director to provide you with a list of references including past campers and counselors to check the camp’s reputation.

The information in this article was provided to you by William Lawrence Camp, a summer camp for boys in New Hampshire. To find out more about summer camps, please visit http://www.wlcamp.org.

If you’d like to speak with someone directly, you may also call us 603-569-3698. We’re happy to help you answer any questions about summer camp you may have.

What is an estimator?
An estimator is a person that writes auto repair estimates on vehicles that have been involved in an accident. The estimator must understand the basic car design and know the nomenclature of a vehicle. The estimator must also have good communication skills as they deal with customers on a daily basis. Not only does the estimator have to communicate with customers, but they will also be the contact person for the insurance companies, shop managers, and the shop foreman or technicians. Therefore, communications is a must for an auto estimator. This career pathway is definitely for a people person. In fact, I would even say that a person that writes auto repair estimates for a auto body repair center needs to be part salesman. It is their job to sell them self, the company, the technicians, and the service that the shop provides. Not all technicians make good estimators, but it is a good idea for the estimator to have experience as a technician. Although, there have been people hired without experience and trained by the shop to write estimates.

Who Hires Estimators?
There are two different industries that hire auto estimators. One is auto body repair shops and the other is insurance companies. This can also split into other categories in each industry. Collision shops can be dealerships, franchise shops, or independent shops. Some insurance companies hire their own auto estimators, while other insurance companies hire independent auto estimators. When you write estimates for the insurance company your title may be an auto appraiser instead of an auto estimator.

What Can An Auto Repair Estimator expect to earn?
This can vary on your experience and if you work for a small body shop or a insurance company. However, according to O*Net the national median for an Auto Damage Appraiser is $53,440 and had a growth rate of 7% to 10% in a ten year period. (2006 – 2016) Some collision repair centers will pay their estimators a salary and a percentage of every job that they sell. Therefore, the more estimate sales that the estimator produce, the more income he or she can earn if on one of these types bonus incentives.

What is the first step to becoming an auto estimator?
The first thing you will need is to learn is the basics. You can do this by enrolling in a collision repair program. Many local community and junior colleges offer these programs. This will allow you to learn the basics about the entire industry. Everything from the body repair, structural or frame repair to painting. Most programs incorporate a basic estimating course within the auto program. This will give you a taste of the industry and determine where you fit in best at. You may decide to become a collision or paint technician instead of a person that writes auto repair estimates. Whatever you decide, this training is the first step to securing a job in the auto collision repair or estimating careers. Some insurance companies require that you have a bachelor degree, but many do not. Experience hold a lot of weight with insurance companies as well. The training is your foundation and how you build the building is up to you. What I mean is, once you have your basics down, you have many opportunities and directions to explore.

Where do I find a facility to gain the training?
The best training for your money is going to be at a junior or community college. Community colleges normally focus on smaller groups, which offers lower student per instructor ratio. This leads to a deeper level of learning. They also receive state and federal funding, which allows them to offer quality programs at a much lower cost to the student. Other training facilities include technical schools and private owned schools. Check with your local community college to see if they offer collision repair. If not, ask them if there is a nearby tech school that does. Chances are that they will know where to point you in the right direction. Once enrolled in a collision repair program, you will be on your way to a career as a person that writes auto repair estimates or many other career pathways that collision repair has to offer.

If you have questions about Auto Body, Paint Repair or Estimating visit Collision Repair Training We’ve have many industry leaders that can help. For all of you Collision Repair News Collision Repair News I invite you to stop by and visit us at CollisionBlast.com

For most cat owners, training their cat to use the litter is a relatively painless process. It is among a cat’s natural instincts to eliminate in an area that they can cover their feces in. This behavior may be a way of your cat accepting what they perceive to be as the natural order of dominance. In the wild feral cats will bury their feces if they are not at the top of their social hierarchy, if a feral cat does not bury his or her feces it is likely that the cat exhibiting that behavior is the dominant feline. So when your housecat buries his or her waste he or she may be recognizing your role as the dominant animal in their social community. It is also possible, however, that your cat may be displaying his or her inherited instinct to bury his or her feces in order to hide their trail from would be predators.

Generally kittens will learn the behavior of burying their feces and using the litter

through their mother once they are weaned assuming the mother is litter trained.

So if you bring home a young kitten of about 12 weeks, you may only need to

place kitty in the litter box and gently scratch the clean litter with your fingers

shortly after she eats to indicate to her what she is to do.

KITTY DIDN’T TAKE TO THE LITTER RIGHT AWAY

If your new cat doesn’t take to litter training after your first few attempts you may

want to consider teaching her using another common method. Confine your new

addition to a small but comfortable room, preferably one with a hard floor if you

have one. Place both the litter box and the food dish in the room but don’t place

them close to one another. Your cat will naturally not want to defecate near its food

source so she will look for another area. Eliminate any pillows, blankets,

newspapers, towels or other soft items where your cat may decide to eliminate from

the room before you close her in. If you have confined your cat to a room with hard

floors she is likely to avoid eliminating on the floor since urinating is likely to splash

back and get on her fur. The only remaining choice to the cat at this point is

(hopefully) the litter box.

MY CAT STOPPED USING THE LITTER

If your cat was housebroken and all the sudden she seems to have

forgotten that instinct there are a few possibilities you might want to consider

before giving up.

1. Does Kitty Have A Dirty Litter Box? The most common cause of a

housetrained cat to stop using the litter is your cat

disagreeing with the level of cleanliness regarding her litter box. Your cat is more

likely to

stop using the litter if she feels that it is too dirty. It is best to clean your cat’s litter

every day or at the very least every second or third day. The dirtier a litter box gets

the less likely it is that your cat is going to continue to use it. Your cat wants to

eliminate in a clean environment and if she notices that every time she eliminates on

the carpet you immediately run and clean it up she perceives that as a more

desirable place to eliminate because it is so quickly cleaned. Keeping your cat’s

litter as clean as possible is the best way to avoid this problem, and remember, what

you consider clean, your cat may not.

In addition to emptying the litter, you obviously need to change it from time to time

as well in order to ensure good cat health and cleanliness. Weekly changing is best,

this ensures that odors and wetness won’t have too much time to build up to

unacceptable levels and it also reduces the likelihood of sickness due to high levels

of bacteria.

2. Stress. A cat eliminating outside of the litter box may also be a sign for

stress.

The introduction of a new person or animal into the household may be putting a lot

of stress on your cat. Cats generally like to feel like they know what is going on and

what they can expect. If you upset that balance by introducing a new creature (even

a two legged one) into the household they may get stressed which can cause them

to eliminate outside the box.

If you leave your cat alone for long periods of time (for example while you take

vacations or go on business trips) and you come back you may

notice that your cat will sometimes seem aloof and standoffish. This is another

instance in which your cat may react with eliminating outside the litter box as a sort

of protest to what she perceives as being abandoned.

A new piece of furniture, or conversely, a newly missing piece of furniture may also

put stress on your cat. Order and comfort are important if you are a cat. If you

decide to get rid of that old fabric sofa because of it’s ugly pea green color and

because it’s falling apart at the seams and then you replace it with a brand new,

slick, top of the line, leather sofa with a refrigerator built into the side, and a

massage and heating function, your cat is unlikely to see this as a stylish upgrade

the way you would. What your cat will probably see is that one of her favorite nap

spots has disappeared only to be replaced by something she is unfamiliar with and

intimidated by.

3. Changing Litter Brands. Cats are creatures of habit and can also be

quite finicky (remember Morris, the 9 Lives cat?). If you’ve recently switched the

brand of litter you usually buy this may be cause for your cat to find another place

to go. Some litters are perfumed (for humans rather than cats) and your cat may

not react well to these smells, or perhaps your cat was used to a less dusty type

of litter, a particular litter’s texture, or who knows what. Changing brands or types

of litter may upset what your cat is comfortable with and the result may be a messy

carpet. If you suspect this to be the cause, you can either switch back, or

gradually introduce the new litter. Try mixing in a little bit of the new litter with the

older brand at first and gradually step up the percentage of the new litter each time

you change the box, eventually you will be able to replace the older brand

altogether. This will help your cat ease into the new litter brand rather than upset

her sense of the order of things.

4. Multiple Cats. As mentioned above a second animal may cause a cat to

begin to

eliminate outside of the litter box, but this may not necessarily be the result of

stress. A second cat in your household should probably have his own litter box

unless your cats have proven they don’t mind sharing. Again, remember cats are

clean creatures and they can be territorial as well. Some cats may not mind using

the same box, but others may refuse, which means again, the carpet becomes litter

box number two.

5. Litter Box Size Or Placement. If the litter box does not provide enough

room for

your cat she may not use it at all. Your cat will likely want to scratch around and be

able to feel comfortable in the litter box. Make sure it is roomy enough, easy

for your cat to get in and out of (the sides of the box should be lower for kittens

than for adult cats), and not in a high traffic area as cats seem to like some

degree of privacy when eliminating. Lastly, make sure your cat has access to the

litter at all times. Putting your litter box in a room that is closed on occasion is a

recipe for disaster. If your cat has to go and she can’t get to the room that you’ve

put the litter in then she really will have no other alternative than to find another

suitable area to eliminate.

6. Medical Issues. Your cat may be experiencing kitty incontinence. Like

humans,

incontinence can strike animals and this may be an indication of other medical

issues with your cat. As a cat ages, she becomes more likely to lose control of her

bodily functions just like a human does. If you suspect age or medical reasons may

be the cause for your kitty’s litter box problems then you should take her to the vet

for an examination, advice and possible treatment to resolve the problem.

WHEN YOUR CAT MAKES A MESS

If your cat does make a mess outside of the litter box it is generally not good

practice to scold her or punish her. Putting her nose in the mess and then tossing

her in the litter is not going to solve your problem. Being upset with your cat is

natural after such an incident, but to display this behavior and then to put her in the

litter box is only making your cat associate the litter box with a bad experience.

Your cat may also begin to learn to be afraid of you, which is obviously not what you

want. Your best solution is to clean up the mess quickly. Put your cat in the litter

box and be friendly and speak in a calming voice with the cat. Scrape the clean

litter with your fingers and make sure your cat sees this behavior, hopefully it will

sink in. To avoid having your cat defecate in the same place outside the litter box a

second (or third) time, cover the area with a plastic sheet or something hard that

will result in your cat splashing herself with her own urine if she should chose that

place to defecate again. Clean the smell as best you can (white vinegar may help,

but make sure your furniture or carpet can handle it). You can also move her food

dish on top of or near the area that she used to defecate, a cat will not want to

defecate near her food source. If your cat uses the litter again, even just once,

reward her, play with her, pet her, give her a treat, make her associate the litter box

with a good experience rather than a bad one.

A cat that eliminates outside of the box is not a lost cat. Don’t give up on her until

you’ve explored the possible reasons for the problem. Once you find it, you can

most likely correct it and kitty and human can live a happy co-existence once again.

Andy Markison is an illustrator, graphic designer, animal lover and pet owner living in Germany. His website, ZapGraphix.com, sells fun and humorous pet related grapchics and gift merchandise.

For those job seeking professionals that have been searching for a job for months or more, the whole job search process may seem a bit stale. Countless hours are often spent on job search websites and job search engines such as CareerBuilder.com, Dice.com, and Monster.com often resulting in minimal feedback. It is frustrating to go months without finding a job. Inevitability you begin to question career choices, your professional skills, experience, qualifications, or even your education. But you’re not alone. In times of high unemployment, a slow moving job market can create the appearance of a job search that becomes stagnated.

In this seven part series we will provide job search strategies and tips to revive your job hunt and reenergize your career confidence.

1) Part Time Job, a Temporary Job, or Volunteering

Seek out short term, part-time, or temporary work in your career field is a good way to get your foot in the door. Even if there does not seem to be any full time jobs opening any time soon, part time work and temp work is a way your employer can get to know you and your work ethic. If a job happens to open up or a new position is created, then you are at a higher advantage then others applicants who may be applying for that same job. You’ll have much more than a resume to show the company.

2) Work on your Personal Brand

If someone were to search for your name online, what, if anything would they see? In all likelihood, hiring you is a big investment to any company or organization. Especially in challenging economic times and an employer driven job market, companies are being more selective about their job applicants.

Take a few minuets and search for yourself online to determine what your digital footprint is. Do you share a name with someone that could create a career opportunity or a problem with your online image?

Use your personal brand to let the employer know your strengths, why they should hire you, and that you are a worthy candidate to investment in. If you remember, the personal brand is your life and professional skills as they appear online. You want your personal brand to be accurate and truthful, but you also want to it to make you look great to an employer. Your brand should reflect your overall qualifications, education, and indicate your career goals.

See what shows up in a Google search and a Yahoo search. Having a LinkedIn profile and profiles on other professional social networking sites can help to create a positive digital footprint. Your profile should be professional and consistent. Keep your information consistent with similar career goals and career objectives in each profile. Avoid blending social media and your online professional image. It is important to keep your private life PRIVATE. That is a mistake many people make with personal branding which may cost them being selected for that next job or opportunity.

3) Changing Careers or Branching Out to New Industries

Diversify you job search and branch out into new job markets you may not have considered in your previous job hunting strategies. Pick a career field, any career field and determine if your skills and qualifications would translate into new job opportunities.

That is not to say that you should just apply for the first job opening that presents itself. As a matter of fact, the opposite is true. Choose a career field that may benefit from your professional knowledge. Your best option is to look at a small geographic area and determine what employers are within this region. Examine what the area employer’s job positions and the job descriptions they are seeking and compare the qualifications to your resume. A midlife career change into a new industry can appear challenging but rewriting a career change resume and cover letter can quickly expand your employment options.

Examine your strengths. If you are not good with people, do not apply to personnel jobs. If you do not have an aptitude for math, do not apply for engineering or accounting jobs. Choose an industry or career field you know you can succeed in and focus your job search in that field. Perhaps you haven’t found a job yet because you are stretched across too many possible career paths. You may have missed an opportunity while you were wasting your time and applying to jobs that do not suit you. As a job search seems to drag on, it may seem tempting to try to apply for everything, but stay focused on your qualifications and job skills.

Be realistic about the types of jobs you are applying for. Most often when make a career transition into a new job market you will find yourself competing for more junior level positions then you would within your current career field. Changing careers may seem like a step backwards; yet showing potential future employers you are capable of taking on new challenges, have the foresight, and flexibility to expand your skill set across industries can become a strong asset.

4) Use Career Counseling and Career Advice Services

Get some help. If month after month has passed with no job offers or employment prospect you may need some help with your job hunt. You do not want to be put in a position where your financial obligations overtake you focusing on your job search.

Recent college graduates and college alumni can use their college’s career services department. Beyond employment listings and postings, many college career service departments offer interview preparation assistance, resume writing and career advice, and can assist you in choosing a career path. These services are often helpful when you are considering changing careers or at a career transition. Also, many companies seek out students from specific universities, colleges, and specific degree program or departments. A career advisor in the schools career services can connect you with these companies.

Beyond the college or university career services centers, look into what career placement services your local city or county provides. Contact your local chamber of commerce to begin your search for these types of local services. Many of these services are either free of charge or at a minimal fee to local residents.

Depending on your specific situation, consider hiring a professional career advisor or career counselor. A professional career counselor’s job is to help you figure out exactly what you want to do and advise you on how to maximize your resources and qualifications.

Before electing to get a career counselor, do some research on what services the career counseling service provides and what their recent candidate placement success rates are. This way, you will know what to expect as an end result. Will they help you find a career path, provide resume writing advice and interview preparation, placement services, and help you along the way? Do not be afraid to ask for help when the job search seems to be dragging on. Having a career advisor or an independent career service can help you revitalize your job hunt.

5) Is Your Resume Writing Reflective of your Career Objective

Refresh your resume and your professional image. If your job search appears stalled, take this time to review your resume and your overall professional image. This includes your cover letter, professional social media sites such as Linked-In, and your professional references.

If employers have already seen your resume and you have not received any responses back, then this might be your cue to give your resume a second look. Check your resume for spelling mistakes, typos, and poor grammar. Those are a definite turn-off to any potential employer.

Do you think your online resume would pass the 20 second test? Remember that 20 seconds is generally the amount of time an employer will spend looking over your resume. In that time frame, an employer will decide whether or not he or she will call you in for a job interview. If it has been a while since you have been called for any interviews, then this may indicate that your resume does not pass the 20 second test. Some resume writing changes may be necessary. Also, be sure that your resume is aesthetically pleasing and your resume qualifications, education, and experience properly flows together.

6) Using only Top Job Search Engines can Limit Your Career Options

Not all job search websites are created equal. Searching that next job opportunity using online job search engines can distribute your resume to many companies and employment centers. Although, not all job search websites are weighted the same for your professional career field or industry.

Major job websites like Moster.com and CareerBuilder.com are great choices to broadcast your resume skills and qualifications. However, your chances in getting noticed on these online job search sites are low. Thousands of career professionals and job seekers are posting and updating their resumes daily, and in a highly competitive job market, being too general with your career objectives may not result in you landing that job.

Take some time to research what are the best job search sites, specific to your industry or career objectives. If your career field is within the medical industry, look for those web sites that focus specifically on medical jobs or nursing jobs. Expand your career and look for part time job search opportunities to get into a company or organization.

Be focused and specific in your job search and make sure you are looking everywhere. Limiting yourself to just a few major job sites can be disastrous. Many of the jobs you are seeking may not be listed on the common and the most popular job search engines. So, try looking at lesser known job sites, and on industry specific ones. Check your local newspaper daily, especially on Sunday editions. Sometimes a job listing may be printed on only one day in the newspaper.

Keep checking your professional social networking sites and keep your eyes open for mentioning of possible job openings. You might be missing out on great opportunities by limiting your search to one place. If you are unemployed, be sure to tell everyone that you are looking. People talk and word will get around. Your friend’s cousin’s girlfriend may be in the Human Resources department in a company where they are hiring. You could be surprised where you find your next job. Whatever you do, do not stop looking until you find what you are looking for.

7) Revisit your Long Term Career Choices

What long term career planning steps have you considered throughout your professional career. Often times we can become comfortable and somewhat complacent within our chosen occupation after we have met certain education and experience requirements. However, over time we can loose our job security if our skills are not continually up to date or with economic shifts, technology innovations, or company restructuring.

If you find yourself in a position where there does not appear to be any jobs in your career field, they you may consider changing industries. Change can be good, but when you mention changing careers, often people confuse this with more schooling or education, significant changes in their schedule, or starting back at the beginning. While any change may require some retraining or new on the job knowledge, changing careers maybe easier then one would think.

Examine what parallel industries or other careers use your same talents. Seek out career counseling and take several career tests to help you determine what industries you maybe unaware of that use your qualifications. A career counselor can help you with this decision and provide you some inside knowledge on specific career fields. If you do not have a career counselor, then you may want think about who in your local area hire professionals with your skills and list all the things you loved about your old job. Then look for jobs that have those same qualities. You can also look at things you disliked about your old job, and look for jobs that do not have those qualities. Take a reputable personally or career test and consider jobs that work for your personality type.

The worst thing you can do is nothing, especially if you see major changes coming in your career field where your future employment could be effected. A proactive approach can open new doors and provide you with new career opportunities.

http://www.resumeadvantagepro.com – Resume Advantage Pro is produced and distributed by the Seneea Corporation, a product developer and publisher, specializing in transforming the online media experience in creating customer focused quality products and services for the Ecommerce consumer. Our resume writing workshop and job search guide, ResumeAdvantagePro.com teaches members the step by step method of drafting a resume for experienced professionals, recent college graduates, and new employees entering the workforce through an online video coaching program and workbook course.

Personalised children’s furniture is one way to make truly one of a kind pieces for your child. Even if you are not artistic, this process can be simple, fun, easy and you and your child will be thrilled at the results. Perhaps you have been avoiding doing any personalising of the furniture because you are concerned that it is too difficult. If this is the case, try some of the simple suggestions below:

* At a craft store buy the unfinished wooden letters that spell out your child’s name. Using their favorite colors, paint the letters either solid colors or make patterns. After painting finish with a clear coat of varnish to add sheen. Glue the letters using a hot glue gun or wood glue onto the surface of mirror frames, dressers or headboards.

* Wooden cut out designs or silhouettes can be painted and added to any piece of furniture. Pick designs that reflect your child’s hobbies or interests. If they are sports fans team logos, favorite players numbers or other team images can be used.

* Stenciling is an easy way to become an instant artist. Simply purchase a stencil that your child likes, and then, using a stencil glue, spray the back of the stencil. Press it gently against the surface you wish to stencil on. Using a stencil brush, gently fill in the stencil area with the desired colors. Carefully remove the stencil by pulling straight off the surface.

* For many young girls glass “gems” and other silver or gold looking flat beads add style and fashion to mirror edges or picture frames. This look is simple and will only require the items to be added with a hot glue gun. Children can help but will need supervision and should not use the glue gun themselves.

* Art wire can also be used to add details. It can be twisted or twirled to make a pattern across the furniture and then glued on with a glue gun or other spray type adhesive.

* Geometric patterns can be used to personalize items. Simply pick a shape or two and paint them onto the surface. It is great to use contrasting colors and outline the shapes in black to really make them stand out.

* Small inch-by-inch tiles can be used to make a patterned headboard, dresser top or table top for your child’s room. Use colors that are favorites to personalize the furniture. Patterns can be made by simply placing different colored tiles on the surface. It is a good idea to lay out the tiles first before gluing them to the furniture so that any changes that need to be made can be easily done.

* Pictures of the child or the family can be placed on a tabletop or desk area and then covered with a layer of plexiglass or glass. The cover can then be attached to the table or desk with clamps. The great advantage of using clamps is that they can be easily removed and the pictures changed as the child ages or as new photos become available.

Personalising your child’s furniture is a fun and easy activity that anyone can do. Children often have great ideas about how to decorate their furniture, and enjoy working together with the family to create one of a kind items for their room.

Visit TheMagicalRockingHorse.com today for a great selection of stylish, affordable childrens furniture and coordinating kids room decor [http://www.themagicalrockinghorse.com/kids-room-decor.html].

Growling is a normal form of doggie communication. Growling, along with body language and other vocalizations, gives us a view into the doggie psyche, into what’s going on in a dog’s brain. In this article, we’re going to dissect a growl – what does it mean, what should you do?

What is A Growl?

Dogs can’t use words to communicate, so they rely on body language and vocalizations (growls, barks, and whines, to name a few) to “have conversations.” Dogs converse with other dogs, as well as with people with these vocalizations. To really understand your dog, you have to know what growling does – and does not – mean.

Why Do Dogs Growl?

Not all growls are created equal. To decipher the meaning of a growl, we need to find out why the dog is growling. There are many reasons dogs growl – when playing, dreaming, protecting something of value, if they feel threatened, or scared.

What Does A Growl Mean?

Dog-to-Dog Growls

As mentioned earlier, it’s important to take into consideration the context in which your dog is growling. Remember, dogs don’t have words. They can only use their body language and vocalizations to communicate with their dog friends. Growling is one way dogs communicate with one another. Sometimes dogs growl when they are playing happily with another dog-friend.

Wondering how to tell the difference between a serious and a playful growl? Take a look at the dog’s bodies. Do you see the following?

• “Loose” bodies (not rigid and stiff)
• Mutual playing (both dogs are content to play together, neither one looks scared or threatened)
• Willingness to continue playing together (if one gets the chance to leave, does he?)
• Cooperative play (dogs take turns “winning” or pinning each other)

If you see these things, the dogs are most likely engaging in normal dog-play. If either dog looks scared, looks like they are bullying the other dog, or moves stiffly, it’s time to interrupt play-time and let them settle down before allowing them to play again.

Dogs also growl to communicate their uneasiness. Your dog may growl at another dog if that dog is:

• Unfamiliar
• Too close to a valued object
• Behaving inappropriately (jumping on your dog, for instance)
• Crowding your dog’s space

Dog-to-Human Growls

Much like dog-to-dog growling, dogs have different reasons for growling at humans. Some dogs growl playfully when interacting with humans. Other dogs growl at children, or men with hats, or some other elusive reason. Again, look at the context in which the growling happens – what does the dog’s body language tell you? Is he stiff or floppy?

What NOT To Do If Your Dog Growls

Knowing there are different reasons behind your dogs’ growls, it’s important to pay attention to the situation before deciding what to do with a growl. If the growl is playful, you probably don’t have to do anything about it, unless the growling bothers you. If you think the growl is more serious, it’s important to proceed with caution.

A growl is a good, clear warning signal and one that we should heed. The dog is clearly telling us that he’s not comfortable with the situation. The most important thing to note is that a growl is information. Punishing the dog for growling will not fix the problem. Punishing a growl will only take that form of communication away from your dog. The next time your dog is in the same situation, he will try a different form of communication – this time he may snarl or even snap. If you punish this form of communication, you’ll have a dog that bites without warning.

Forcing your dog to tolerate a situation that makes him uncomfortable is a recipe for disaster. By doing this, you are giving the dog no option to get out of the situation. If, for example, your dog is uncomfortable around small children and you hold your dog’s collar while allowing children to approach your dog, you aren’t helping alleviate your dog’s discomfort. You are actually contributing to the discomfort which could lead to a snarl, snap, or a bite. What to Do

If Your Dog Growls

Your first order of business is to determine what makes your dog uncomfortable in the situation. Is it the presence of small children surrounding him, another dog near a prized possession? Is he scared? Does he feel threatened? Once you know why your dog is uncomfortable, you can then do something about hearing his “call of distress” and do something to help him.

Here are some basic steps to follow. Please note that if you are afraid that your dog will bite, consult a professional positive reinforcement dog trainer and do not proceed with the following steps.

In this example let’s assume the dog is growling when you approach his food bowl.

1. Begin to hand feed your dog his meals. No more food in the bowl. If there isn’t food in the bowl, he’s much less likely to “guard” the bowl. Bonus: And it’s you that gives the dog the food. Therefore you become an important and welcome link to the food.

2. After your dog is eagerly accepting his food from your hand, begin to re-introduce the food bowl. Put the food bowl in your lap and drop three or four pieces of your dog’s food in the bowl. When he finishes those kibbles, drop three or four more in. Continue this until the dog’s entire meal has been eaten.

3. Once your dog is looking forward to your hand moving to his empty bowl to add more food, reserve an extra special treat (chicken, steak, fish – something REALLY delicious that he doesn’t normally get). Put five to ten pieces of food in his bowl and while he’s eating, drop in this delicious morsel. Your dog is learning that really good things happen when your hand moves toward his bowl.

4. If your dog readily accepts your hand approaching his bowl when he has a few kibbles in it, begin putting more kibble

in his bowl and then adding a delicious morsel every few moments.

Note: This process could take days, weeks, or months depending on your dog. Don’t rush these steps. If you are afraid that your dog will bite, DO NOT engage in this process. Find a professional positive reinforcement dog trainer.

By following these steps, you are solving the underlying problem (the dog’s dislike of approaching people) instead of just getting rid of his warning system. If, instead of implementing the steps above, you punished your dog for growling (by yelling or swatting at him, or taking his food bowl away), you are doing two things: (1) reinforcing his belief that people who approach his food bowl are dangerous and (2) getting rid of a perfectly good warning system. You are not, I repeat NOT, fixing the underlying problem.

Dogs can’t use words. It is up to each of us to listen to our dogs and try our best to decipher their language. Not all growls are created equal – know your dog. We expect dogs to listen to us, isn’t it time we start listening to them?

Laurie Luck, CPDT
Certified Pet Dog Trainer
Smart Dog University, LLC
Box 1111
Mount Airy, MD 21771
(240) 848-3468
laurie@smartdoguniversity.com
http://www.SmartDogUniversity.com
———————————————————————————————————————–
Laurie is one of only 1,300 certified pet dog trainers (CPDT) in the world and is the founder of Smart Dog University. She has been helping dogs and their owners for more than a decade. She is passionate about dog-friendly training and eschews punishment.

She works with dog lovers because she understand how frustrating it can be when people want to spend time with their dog, but don’t know how to get him to listen.

She loves what she does and has developed many happy friendships, both canine and human, along the way.

Laurie is owned by four dogs: two Labradors, a Great Dane Hound Cross, and an Australian shepherd.

Do you blog? I hope you do, because blogging can do a lot for your freelance writing career. For a writer, blogs are not only an instant-publishing tool, they’re also an opportunity to find great writing jobs.

Blogs are a phenomenon. Although many “A-list” bloggers have been publishing for years and have built up strong audiences, it’s only in the past couple of years that blogs have become mainstream.

Let’s get definitions out of the way. What’s a blog? A blog is just a Web site in which the site’s pages are (usually) published in chronological order. Blogs are based on templates, and have a simple navigational structure, based on chronology, and on categories.

The major benefit of a blog is that it’s instant. If I want to post a message to a blog, I can do it in seconds. Contrast the “instant” nature of a blog with publishing in a newspaper or a magazine. The other major benefit of a blog is that it can be free.

How to Get a Blog Job

Top blogs are usually written by a group, rather than by a single individual, because high-traffic blogs are updated several times a day. This means that many, many blog jobs are available. All you have to do is look for them.

However, before you start looking, create your own small blog first. Anyone who hires you will want to know that you understand the nature of blogging.

Your blog should be in an area in which you want to be hired to blog. For example, if you have experience in health topics, then create a blog on a health topic. Or perhaps you enjoy celebrity gossip. This is a very popular topic in blogging, as it is in magazines, so create a celebrity gossip blog.

With your own small blog created, it’s time to find blog jobs. Yes, that’s plural. Most professional bloggers blog for a stable of blogs. Several colleagues blog for ten to 20 blogs. One friend blogs for many businesses. At last count, he was blogging for 30 blogs, and making an extraordinary income.

There are many ways you can find blogs jobs. The most common way is to approach a business which as a Web site, but which doesn’t have a blog, and to propose a blog to them. If you’re new to blogging, you may find this approach a little intimidating, so let’s look at other ways suitable for new bloggers.

Here are three ways:

1. Use the out-sourcing sites

There are dozens of out-sourcing sites, and you’ll find blog jobs advertised there. Bid on projects, but don’t under-price your services. All writing takes time, and if you under-bid, you’ll be too busy blogging to look for better paying blog jobs. So bid a sensible amount. Genuine buyers will hire you.

2. Approach other bloggers

Another easy way to get blog jobs is to approach other bloggers. This is simple and it works, but although I’ve been blogging since 2001, I’m rarely approached. Maybe such a simple solution doesn’t occur to people.

Since businesses who want to hire bloggers do approach me, I’m happy to make introductions, as are all bloggers.

So politely approach bloggers, and ask that they keep you in mind to recommend for blog jobs.

3. Advertise your availability on your own site

Please remember to advertise your availability on your own site. Again, this method is so simple that it’s often overlooked. I’ve lost count of the numbers of blogs I’ve seen of people I know are looking for blog jobs – but there’s no mention of this on their own blogs.

So go and get some blog jobs – they’re widely available, they’re fun, and they’re profitable too.

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Angela’s blogging ebook package has a companion blog, the Blogging for Dollars Blog at http://www.dollars2blog.com/blog/ which keeps you up to date with what’s happening in the world of professional blogging.

Gourmet Cooking

Gourmet cooking presents a challenge basic cooking does not. Food preparation may require use of various cooking implements foreign to basic cooking. All though this may be the case in retrospect it’s just a different approach and this ought not intimidate you in the least.

The types of foods used in gourmet dishes are not native to basic cooking. Truffles, imported cheeses and spices like lemon grass or saffron and flavorings like rosewater may be a key ingredient.

Gourmet Entree Challenges

Meats, fish and poultry in gourmet recipes, for example, crown roast, partridge baked in rock salt shells, a Beef Wellington baked with a light flaky crust or duck prepared with plum wine sauce are unforgettable gourmet repasts. Gourmet recipes are always made from freshest ingredients and always from “scratch”.

There may be several phases to cooking specific gourmet recipes. They may begin with paring and chopping in one phase, graduate to light braising next and finish with a final baking phase.

The Gourmet Cook

A gourmet cook never lacks innovation when designing a new dish. This is a critical aspect of the character of a gourmet chef. They are both innovative and creative and this in fact is where you can really shine and have some fun.

Each new gourmet recipe is a study in the art of fine cooking. Artful presentation of the meal is important. Gourmet preparation results in extraordinary tastes and colorful design.

All of the above combined makes for an enjoyable cooking experience.

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Why does celebrity makeup always look so perfect?

Celebrity makeup artists have tons of tips and techniques for applying makeup that most people never heard of! Want to be one of the few in-the-know? We’ve gathered some great ones for you right here! Here you will learn some great makeup application secrets to get your most flattering eyes, eyelashes, eyebrows, concealer, foundation, blush and lips ever

!

Celebrity Eyes:

Makeup artists have many tricks up their sleeves to make celebrities’ eyes pop! They first put an eye shadow primer or some foundation on the eyelids, so that the eye shadow has something to hold onto. For eye shadow colors, they’ll select three shades which are variations on the same color (i.e. light green, medium green, and dark green), or in the same neutral color family (i.e. beige, brown, and dark brown). They will put the lightest color on the brow bone, the medium color on the lid, and the darkest color in the crease. This will emphasize the shape of the eyes and make them stand out!

Other tricks for glammed-up, red carpet eyes include lining the lower inner rim of the eyes with a white pencil to make them appear bigger and applying shimmery clear lip gloss to the top eyelids to make eyes sparkle. Celebrity makeup artists also apply shimmer powder under the brow bone to draw more attention to the eye area and they always smude eyeliner with a Q-tip to make it look less severe or smokier.

To create cat-eyes (like Brigitte Bardot in the sixties or Pamela Anderson today), celebrity makeup artists use dark brown or black eyeliner to exaggerate the end of the eye so it turns up slightly. If you decide to go this route, remember that smudging is the key to perfecting this look!

Celebrity Eyelashes:

Celebrity makeup artists also have many secrets for eyelashes! They always curl eyelashes first to maximize length and curl. They then dust them with powder which makes the eyelashes look much thicker after the mascara is applied! Celebrity makeup artists will often use two coats of mascara, the first will be a lengthening or separating formula, and the second, a thickening formula, to max out eyelash potential! Mascara clumps are combed out between coats.

For special occasions celebrities may use false eyelashes (their secret is dark eyelash glue) or may have eyelash extensions applied which are semi-permanent variations.

Celebrity Eyebrows:

Celebrity makeup artists know that enhancing the shape of the eyebrows is one of the most dramatic ways to improve a celebrity’s appearance. Celebrity makeup artists use Treezerman brand tweezers most often to shape eyebrows. They tweeze the hairs under the arch of the eyebrow to further emphasize it and pluck away any strays. Eyebrows are filled in with the feathery strokes of an eyebrow pencil in either “blonde “or “taupe” for blondes, “auburn” for redheads, and light brown or medium brown for brunettes. Only black-haired gals should fill in their eyebrows with a “dark brown” eyebrow pencil” and nobody should use a black eyebrow pencil as it looks too severe. A secret weapon of celebrity makeup artists is brow sealant, which keeps this brow look in shape all day.

Celebrity Concealer:

Amazing Concealer by Amazing Cosmetics is favored by many celebrity makeup artists. Concealer is usually applied with an eye shadow brush. It is applied in thin layers which are “built up” until the blemish is covered. Concealer typically is applied before foundation. For really red blemishes, makeup artists often use a green concealer first which tones the redness down under foundation.

Celebrity Foundation:

Laura Mercier Foundation is very popular with celebrities. Foundation is usually applied by celebrity makeup artists with a sponge for the most natural looking coverage. Celebrity makeup artists use a foundation primer which is worn between your moisturizer and your foundation. This product refines the skin and helps foundation stay in place all day. If you can’t spring just yet for celebrity products, try Revlon’s Color Stay Foundation with Soft-flex, which stays in place all day and comes in an extensive variety of shades.

Celebrity Powder:

Celebrity makeup artists almost always use loose powder in a translucent or skin matching shade. They will apply it with a puff and then dust it away with a big brush, or will apply it with the big brush, being sure to shake off any excess first. Then the celebrity will carry around a pressed powder or blotting papers in her evening bag for touch ups. Some celebrities skip powder all together for their dry skinned clients. Powder is great for keeping foundation in place for the longest period of time, however.

Celebrity Blush:

Nars and Stila blushes are very popular with celebrity makeup artists. While these are powder blushes, there are other makeup artists who prefer gel blush because of the dewy, healthy glow it imparts. Blush is never applied with anything but a big, fluffy brush. It is applied on the apples of the cheeks in circles, or is swept from the apples to the hair line. Shimmery blushes like Nars blush in Torrid can make the cheeks appear to be glowing, according to celebrity fans.

Celebrity Lips:

MAC lipliner in Spice is the shade thought to most closely resemble natural lip color for most people and is a favorite of celebrity makeup artists. Celebrities often use lip-plumping products like City Lips and LipFusion which have both won awards from Good Housekeeping! Lip gloss is applied at least to the center of the bottom lip to make it look fuller.

Sara Liz, M.A. is the Editor-in-Chief for Celebrity-Beauty-Secret-Goldmine.com. Visit http://www.celebrity-beauty-tip-goldmine.com for tons more celebrity beauty secrets for your body, hair, makeup, nails, skin, style, and weight-loss.

Marketing online and offline couldn’t be more complex and competitive than it is today. Markets have fragmented and advertising mediums have splintered into hundreds of specialized niches, all requiring specialized expertise in order to achieve respectable results. Marketing channels too, are splintered and controlled by conglomerates. It’s a realm that is often beyond the average marketers view let alone their ability to control it.

Promotional marketing is generally seen as the tail end of the campaign, however if a companies overall marketing activities don’t support its objectives and timing, the results are often poor, and the promotions manager gets to take the blame for the failure.

Choosing a good marketing company to integrate these complicated promotional channels is a task in itself since many will promise exceptional marketing campaign results yet few will deliver what you expect. When they fail, will you know where the problem was or will you have to chalk it up to experience and start all over again?

Why is it that many marketing firm’s promotional programs and implementation fail? Primarily because they don’t understand this fragmentation of media. Integrated marketing isn’t just a buzzword. Multi-channel marketing tactics need to be developed and coordinated by a campaign manager and carried out as a systematic program. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of skilled promotional marketing experts and a limited number of marketing companies that have a national network of marketing channel partners and contacts. Integrated marketing can’t be done well by small marketing companies that arrange deals with other independents. Large marketing companies have the resources, and the network of established channel partners that ensure your products are promoted from distribution to point of sale.

Marketing Promotion

Since marketing and advertising channels have become so fragmented, it is difficult for an advertiser to reach and affect a target consumer. Advertisers can no longer take access to consumers for granted and it takes a concerted effort to reach a consumer a number of different ways. Promotional marketing campaigns have to consider multiple mediums including the Internet to achieve optimal promotional and sales results. When they work together, they can register with the consumer audience, and ensure that your products are distributed to where they need to be at the right time.

We hear a lot about Internet marketing and its incredible reach, and it is excellent for communications and setting up brand awareness and purchase desire. However, for consumer goods companies, few promotional channels surpass retail store promotion. The retail store location is where the sale is made, and when your promotional program is focused to work well here, you’re likely to see things go well. A sale can be lost at the point of sale, much to the consternation of firms with weak connections and retail sales training programs. They’re unable to respond to sales rep issues and the demands of consumers, and when the consumer loses confidence or interest, they won’t commit to buying the product.

Sales transactions are complex and premiums and incentives are a key part of whether your product will make it to the store shelves and receive the right sales support. Once your products leave the warehouse, they’re on their own, unless a professional promotional marketing company is supporting them at the retail level.

Strong Integrated Channels

Marketing channels are complicated too, and if the connections in your network aren’t strong throughout, your sales can come to shuddering halt. Don’t think marketing channel members don’t know about your distribution vulnerabilities too. They know you’re an independent and they have their primary loyalties to bigger manufacturers and distributors. Your products may get secondary status and receive no sales support.

So what happens during fragmented promotional campaigns? Many marketing promotion campaigns are marred by poor point of sale signage, supplier communication blocks, unreliable reporting, warehouse fulfillment problems, poor sales support, poor sales training, along with high costs and outdated technology. A marketing promotion can fail many different ways and you need to understand why. When you’re spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on campaign development and distribution activities, and have committed to a particular marketing company, your company’s future is on the line.

What you need is a reliable marketing company that possesses the warehousing and database systems, fulfillment practices, and sales support network to ease distribution and communication problems.

If you’re still managing your marketing promotion campaigns in-house, you should consider outsourcing to a promotional advertising and marketing firm that offers a complete variety of support service. From campaign planning to post-sales customer support, these companies can take a burden off your hands and actually give you an edge in the retail promotions space.

Big promotional marketing companies have developed capabilities in producing creative and effective POS marketing materials, print advertising pieces, packaging, warehouse automation, and retail distribution. They can help you manage large scale orders on demanding deadlines because their state of the art electronic systems are set up to do this. They provide solutions for billing/invoicing, customized reporting, and warehouse distribution of your marketing collateral. From EDI transactions to Web-based reporting tools, they have a command of the marketing fulfillment process and can give you an excellent awareness of your marketing campaign performance. Just working with these companies once can make you a better marketing manager.

So give yourself a break and bring in the full service promotional consultants and then start seeing your marketing campaigns hit the mark. As part of a complete integrated, promotional marketing campaign, these service companies will save money, time, and reduce communication problems, and thus save your future marketing channel relationships.

The top promotional marketing firm in the US is without a doubt, Archway Marketing Services. This company has been serving marketers across the US for decades. Archway takes control of your complete promotional marketing campaign from start to finish. They provide excellent cost efficiencies in warehouse, inventory management and shipping. Their integrated ERP platform enables real-time supply management, reporting and customer care.

If you could double the ROI on your retail promotional marketing campaign, wouldn’t it make sense to bring in a full service promotional marketing company?

Archway Marketing Services delivers exceptional promotional marketing solutions. This top rated promotional marketing company offers a wide range of promotional marketing services including the execution of your marketing campaign fulfillment. They plan and create powerful, consumer-focused solutions, which include premiums & incentives, sweepstakes, games, contests, merchandising systems, point of sale promotions, and real time performance information on the success of your promotional campaigns.

Car insurance is an added expense over and above the considerable expense of owning and maintaining a car, particularly when you consider all the other types of insurance that are necessary in today’s world, so it is only natural to want to get cheap car insurance without compromising on coverage. Luckily, cheap car insurance is well within your reach, provided you know how to get it.

The Internet is the best place to start when shopping for cheap car insurance. Insurance companies are now geared to provide you with a quote online but you will still need to shop around and compare quotes, and keying in your details separately for each insurance company you want a quote from can be a hassle. The answer is to use an insurance company that allows you to get multiple quotes online. You enter your details online, and the insurance company will draw up individual quotes for a number of insurance providers (sometimes as many as eight) and send them to you all in one go. How cool is that? You will even save on your phone bill because you won’t need to use the phone to get your quotes.

There are a number of other things you can do to reduce your car insurance besides getting cheap car insurance quotes online. You can increase your excess which will decrease your premiums on a monthly basis but substantially increase the amount you will have to pay out of your pocket when you claim. Accidents happen when you least expect them so you need to be sure you can afford to pay such a high excess if you go this route. All new cars now have to be insured before they leave the showroom floor these days but you can limit the amount of insurance you will have to pay by purchasing a cheap or moderately priced car. To insurance companies, cheaper cars mean cheaper repairs which means they will have to fork out less. The result is a lower premium for the consumer who buys a cheaper car.

Ensure that your car is parked in a secured area like a garage or lockable car port at night, and consider fitting additional security measures such as a gear-lock, as this can help you get a cheaper package. Speaking of packages, it is often cheaper to have a combined coverage package, where you insure your car, home and possessions with one insurance company than several separate premiums with different companies. Avoid driving a high-risk vehicle or expensive car if you can. High-risk vehicles are the makes and models of cars that insurance companies consider to be vulnerable to theft and hi-jacking, and your premium will be raised accordingly. Also, expensive cars tend to be expensive to repair, so you can expect your insurance premium to be higher than if you had a cheaper car.

As you can see, there are a number of ways to get cheaper car insurance, but cheaper is not always better because it can mean you aren’t adequately covered. You need to be clear on what your insurance status is and what adequate coverage costs, and then decide how far over and above a reasonable insurance premium you want to go with extras.Car insurance is an added expense over and above the considerable expense of owning and maintaining a car, particularly when you consider all the other types of insurance that are necessary in today’s world, so it is only natural to want to get cheap car insurance without compromising on coverage. Luckily, cheap car insurance is well within your reach, provided you know how to get it.

The Internet is the best place to start when shopping for cheap car insurance. Insurance companies are now geared to provide you with a quote online but you will still need to shop around and compare quotes, and keying in your details separately for each insurance company you want a quote from can be a hassle. The answer is to use an insurance company that allows you to get multiple quotes online. You enter your details online, and the insurance company will draw up individual quotes for a number of insurance providers (sometimes as many as and send them to you all in one go. How cool is that? You will even save on your phone bill because you won’t need to use the phone to get your quotes.

There are a number of other things you can do to reduce your car insurance besides getting cheap car insurance quotes online. You can increase your excess which will decrease your premiums on a monthly basis but substantially increase the amount you will have to pay out of your pocket when you claim. Accidents happen when you least expect them so you need to be sure you can afford to pay such a high excess if you go this route. All new cars now have to be insured before they leave the showroom floor these days but you can limit the amount of insurance you will have to pay by purchasing a cheap or moderately priced car. To insurance companies, cheaper cars mean cheaper repairs which means they will have to fork out less. The result is a lower premium for the consumer who buys a cheaper car.

Ensure that your car is parked in a secured area like a garage or lockable car port at night, and consider fitting additional security measures such as a gear-lock, as this can help you get a cheaper package. Speaking of packages, it is often cheaper to have a combined coverage package, where you insure your car, home and possessions with one insurance company than several separate premiums with different companies. Avoid driving a high-risk vehicle or expensive car if you can. High-risk vehicles are the makes and models of cars that insurance companies consider to be vulnerable to theft and hi-jacking, and your premium will be raised accordingly. Also, expensive cars tend to be expensive to repair, so you can expect your insurance premium to be higher than if you had a cheaper car.

As you can see, there are a number of ways to get cheaper car insurance, but cheaper is not always better because it can mean you aren’t adequately covered. You need to be clear on what your insurance status is and what adequate coverage costs, and then decide how far over and above a reasonable insurance premium you want to go with extras.

Evan Goldstein manages the website http://www.youinsure.co.za, a site that offers information about cheap car insurance

If you are a business owner or even if you are about to become one, there is a good chance that you have heard of innovative internet marketing ideas before. Although you may have heard of these ideas before, do you know what they are? Do you know what they can do for you and your business? Are you using the same old marketing techniques used by everyone else in the industry and struggling for traffic and business? Lets examine the advantages and disadvantages of using innovative internet marketing ideas to promote your business.

Before you start to examine the advantages and disadvantages of innovative Internet marketing, it may be a good idea to examine exactly what it is. As a business owner or a soon to be business owner, you likely already know what Internet marketing is. Marketing is getting your business out into the general public; it is done by targeting your intended audience, your customers. That targeting is done by way of the internet; thus the title, internet marketing. It is also important to understand how to be innovative and how that ties into internet marketing. Innovation is another word that is often used to describe something new; therefore, innovative Internet marketing ideas are relatively new ideas, particularly ideas that have just recently been developed.

When it comes to innovative internet marketing ideas and your business, you will find that there are a number of benefits. One of those benefits is the ease of use. Even if you do not have a large amount of computer experience, you will often find the internet easy to use. Whether you are interested in making your business an online website, starting a business newsletter, or conducting a demographic analysis online, you should easily be able to do so. Even if you do not know how to start up your own newsletter, do an online poll, or make your own website, you should be able to learn, often in no time at all. The internet offers information on starting all kinds of businesses.

Once you have chosen your niche, or specific area or product that you would like to promote or sell, try searching the internet for similar products or services. In this way, you can determine any potential competition. If competition exists, you can decide if you want to compete, or find a complimentary product or service to promote. If competition doesn’t exist, and there is a market looking for answers to a question, this would be a perfect niche market to begin a business in.

In addition to using the Internet to put your innovative marketing ideas to into motion, you can also use the Internet to find those ideas. Using the Internet to find innovative Internet marketing ideas is a relatively quick and easy process. By staying up-to-date on the latest business and marketing news or by performing a standard Internet search, you can easily be kept in the loop, when it comes to Internet marketing ideas, particularly new ones. If you have a niche that you are interested in, often signing up for related newsletters or chat rooms can lead to the discovery of a new business idea or marketing technique. If you put those ideas into motion, as soon as you hear about them, your business may be given an edge above the rest of its competition. In fact, a new innovative Internet marketing idea may be just what you need to get your business up and running.

What is also nice about innovative Internet marketing is that, although it is relatively easy to develop your own marketing ideas and execute them, you don’t necessarily have to. For example, there are a large number of individuals who specialize in Internet marketing. Those individuals, who are often referred to as internet marketing specialists, can be found online. An internet marketing specialist is a trained professional who can not only come up with new ways to market your internet business online, but they can also execute those ideas for you, for a reasonable fee. Whether you don’t have the time to develop an effective marketing plan or if you want to avoid the hassle of doing so, an internet marketing specialist may be able to offer you assistance.

Although there are a large number of advantages to using innovative marketing ideas to promote your business, there are also a few disadvantages to doing so as well. One of those disadvantages is the fact that innovative marketing ideas are new. With new marketing ideas, they have sometimes yet to be tested or proven; therefore, you are really given no guarantees that a new, innovative Internet marketing idea really will work. Of course, it is important to remember that with business, there are always risks. Trying a new innovative internet marketing idea may not work out to your advantage, but it may also be the best thing that has ever happened to your business.

Barb Asselin is an author and owner of Asselin Group, an online publishing company. For more articles relating to internet marketing, visit http://marketing-strategies.asselingroup.com or for other aspects of internet businesses, visit http://www.asselingroup.com/ebooks-internet.htm to read our articles or ebooks. Visit http://www.asselingroup.com to see all that Asselin Group has to offer, including municipal directories, real estate articles and sign language ebooks.

Fly fishing is an ancient angling method especially effective in catching trout and salmon. This distinct method of angling uses artificial flies to lure or excite fish. This helps anglers catch the fish easier than the traditional way.

There are two basic forms you can use, dry flies and wet flies.

Dry flies need coating with floatant in order for it to sit in the surface of the water. Dry flies are mostly effective in upstream and moving water. Dry flies help anglers’ spot where fish resides like pools and pocket in streams. Thus, it is easier to detect them and catch the fish.

The use of wet flies is beneath the surface of the water. Wet flies are nymphs, lures and true wet flies. It works as effective as dry flies except that in cases where weeds are many and almost touching the surface, wet flies blends with the weeds and thus may not be as effective as the dry flies.

Fly fishing was developed in the 19th century, dry fly technique is very effective especially for slower and clearer rivers.

This is because weeds in rich rivers tend to grow closer to the surface, thus traditional wet fly fishing is almost ineffective. Dry fly fishing is thus useful by keeping the fly and the line floating on the surface. This makes fish excited and aggressive; the angler can then spot the location of the fish and in turn catches fish easier.

Later developments of fly fishing made this concept as basis, thus in the latter part of the 19th century, anglers develop love for this form of fishing. This gave birth to the sport among its aficionados.

Various parts of the United States host fly fishing sports such as in the waters of Catskill Mountains of New York and the provinces of Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, British Columbia, Alberta and California.

Anglers in North America also develop various literatures pertaining to fly fishing. The sport of fly fishing and all these literatures gave North America the reputation of being the birthplace of dry fly fishing, specifically the City of Calgary, Alberta. It is arguably one of the world’s best trout rivers, thus it remains to be the epicenter for the Western Fly Fishing in North America.

Various other states in America keeps the growing number of fly-fishers such as Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Arkansas. The growing number of anglers that are drawn to the sport keeps the popularity at its peak.

Dry or wet fly fishing, whichever is more effective in the rivers where you fish will help keep the sport exciting. It may not be long that other countries will learn to love the sport and make it a globally loved sport.

This Type of fishing uses longer and lighter rods; sizes vary from 2m (6 ft) for fresh water and up to 4m (14 ft) for salt water use. Weight for fresh water rods are between two to five ounces.

Popular types of casts follow its variety in situation specifics. Anglers uses common cast when the angler whisks the fly rod forward and back using his forearm and upper arm, the wrist is used to soften the motion.

The rod movement varies from 10 o’clock position to 2 o’clock position without touching the ground. Anglers do this to load the rod tip with energy and to travel the fly line creating distance and control; they call this motion false casting.

False casting needs to be done to excite the fish or make it aggressive enough so that when the fly touches the surface, it will be sure that the area where the fly touches is where most of the fish are located and thus will be easier to spot and catch them.

Whether you are a fishing aficionado for outdoor excitement or having fun with your family, using the proper equipment will help you develop love for the sport. Keep it exciting and enjoy fishing at its finest in most popular fly fishing locations in the country. There are many locations, thus you will not have a problem in spotting nice locations for you and your family for this wonderful outdoor adventure.

Shannon Brown is a native of Colorado and an avid fisherman. He has created a new website just for fly fisherman. Stop by and visit him at: Colorado Fly Fishing [http://www.coloradoflyfishing.org]

“I used to feel depressed at work, hate my boss, and was sometimes so bored that I actually fell asleep at my desk!” — career test taker

If this sounds like you, then it’s probably time to consider changing jobs or careers. But before you can make your career change, you need to figure out what you want to do.

One of the best ways to get clear is to complete a career assessment. Yet there are literally hundreds of career tests out there. Is a career test the same as an aptitude test? What about a career personality test? This article clarifies the differences and presents 7 criteria for deciding which career test is best for you.

#1 Career test vs. personality test

Is the assessment specifically designed to provide career guidance?

Personality tests only tell you about your character traits whereas a career assessment gives specific career advice. Of course, it helps to know whether you’re an extrovert or an introvert and perceive by sensing or intuition. Personality tests such as the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the Enneagram are quite useful as background information. Making the leap from simple awareness of your personality type to specific career strategies is very difficult, however. If you want a new job or career, it’s better to take an assessment that is specifically geared to providing career guidance.

#2 Specific vs. general

Does the career assessment give concrete recommendations that you can use immediately rather than vague observations that are open to interpretation and not actionable? Aside from the change itself, the hardest part of changing careers is narrowing down your choices. But if you don’t get specific, you won’t be able to take action. A good assessment should not be general like the astrological horoscopes in the newspaper.

#3 Motivation rules: why motivation is a better indicator than aptitude or personality

Does the career assessment measure motivation?

Motivation is a far better career indicator than skill or personality because what you like to do is what you WILL do and what you will get very good at (if you aren’t already). Why force a square peg into a round hole?

When you base your decisions on what motivates you, you’ll probably feel much more fulfilled, and be much more successful, too.

#4 Where’s the beef?

Even if you’re a vegetarian, you’ll want “meaty” results! A good career assessment should include hard data, as well as sufficient detail and explanation to help you interpret the results.

#5 Do you believe it?

Is the career assessment scientifically valid? An effective career assessment should have a high predictive reliability. Such things can be measured statistically. Anything over 95% is quite good.

Statistical validity is important for a number of reasons. Obviously, you want to feel that the assessment provides an accurate picture of what motivates you and you don’t want to be misled by grossly inaccurate results. But another point is that when the results are believable this provides a boost to your self-confidence. In my case, I was relieved and encouraged to see from my results that I had chosen the correct career path. It was a kind of confirmation or validation: “Whew! What a relief!”

Remember that ultimately it’s up to you to decide whether a set of results makes sense or not. However, it helps to use a highly reliable assessment.

#6 Can you get from A to Z?

Are additional tools available to help you take your results and develop a clear career roadmap for yourself?

Honestly, a lot of people take career tests and get brilliant insights. Unfortunately, many of these same people are never able to turn their insights into results. What’s needed is a support infrastructure of materials and people to help you apply your results over time.

#7 Is it fast?

Even in the internet age, there still are a lot of tests that you can only take on paper. It takes 30 minutes or even over an hour to take the test. Then you have to wait while the test is scored and processed. You may only get your results after several days or weeks.

Personally I prefer career tests that I can take online and that give me my results immediately.

Conclusion

A career test is just a tool and just one step on your career change journey. Nonetheless, it’s worth spending some time to understand what types of tests are available and which is best for you. Just remember that even the best career test is only a tool. It’s up to you to take charge of your own career.

Paul Arinaga is a career coach and owner of [http://www.fast-career-test.com] Visit [http://www.fast-career-test.com/sample.htm] for a free sample report for the Motivational Appraisal of Personal Potential (MAPP) or a pdf version of this article.