Why We Love Children

The smell of rain

A cold March wind danced around the dead of night in Dallas as the doctor walked
into the small hospital room of Diana Blessing. She was still groggy from surgery. Her husband, David, held her hand as they braced themselves for the latest news.

That afternoon of March 10, 1991, complications had forced Diana, only 24-weeks pregnant, to undergo an emergency Cesarean to deliver couple's new daughter, Dana Lu Blessing. At 12 inches long and weighing only one pound nine ounces, they already knew she was perilously
premature.

Still, the doctor's soft words dropped like bombs.

"I don't think she's going to make it," he said, as kindly as he could.
"There's only a 10-percent chance she will live through the night, and even then, if by
some slim chance she does make it, her future could be a very cruel one"

Numb with disbelief, David and Diana listened as the doctor described the
devastating problems Dana would likely face if she survived.

She would never walk, she would never talk, she would probably be blind, and she would certainly be prone to other catastrophic conditions from cerebral palsy to
complete mental retardation, and on and on.

"No! No!" was all Diana could say.

She and David, with their 5-year-old son Dustin, had long dreamed of the day they
would have a daughter to become a family of four. Now, within a matter of
hours, that dream was slipping away.

But as those first days passed, a new agony set in for David and Diana. Because Dana's
underdeveloped nervous system was essentially 'raw', the lightest kiss or caress
only intensified her discomfort, so they couldn't even cradle their tiny baby
girl against their chests to offer the strength of their love.

All they could do, as Dana struggled alone beneath the ultraviolet light in the tangle of
tubes and wires, was to pray that God would stay close to their precious little girl.

There was never a moment when Dana suddenly grew stronger.

But as the weeks went by, she did slowly gain an ounce of weight here and an ounce
of strength there.

At last, when Dana turned two months old. her parents were able to hold her in their arms for the very first time.

And two months later, though doctors continued to gently but grimly warn that her chances of surviving, much less living any kind of normal life, were next to zero, Dana went home from the hospital, just as her mother had predicted.

Five years later, when Dana was a petite but feisty young girl with glittering gray eyes and an unquenchable zest for life. She showed no signs whatsoever of any mental or physical impairment. Simply, she was everything a little girl can be and more. But that happy ending is far from the end of her story.

One blistering afternoon in the summer of 1996 near her home in Irving, Texas, Dana was sitting in her mother's lap in the bleachers of a local ball park where her brother Dustin's baseball team was practicing.

As always, Dana was chattering nonstop with her mother and several other
adults sitting nearby when she suddenly fell silent.

Hugging her arms across her chest, little Dana asked, "Do you smell that?" Smelling the air and detecting the approach of a thunderstorm, Diana replied, "Yes, it smells like rain."

Dana closed her eyes and again asked, "Do you smell that?"

Once again, her mother replied, "Yes, I think we're about to get wet. It smells like rain."

Still caught in the moment, Dana shook her head, patted her thin shoulders with her small hands and loudly announced, "No, it smells like Him. It smells like God when you lay your head on His chest."

Tears blurred Diana's eyes as Dana happily hopped down to play with the other
children. Before the rains came, her daughter's words confirmed what Diana and all the members of the extended Blessing family had known, at least in their hearts, all along. During those long days and nights of her first two months of her life, when her nerves were too sensitive for them to touch her, God was holding Dana on His chest and it is His loving scent that she remembers so well.

Are you wondering if this story is true? Well, yes, it is.

Here are excerpts from Diana Blessing's message to Truth or Fiction, www.truthorfiction.com on 8/21/00:

"The original title is 'Heaven Scent'. About 5 years ago now, the C.E.O. of Columbia hospitals decided to compile some of the wonderful stories that he had received and put them into a book formatted similar to the 'Chicken Soup' series. This book was titled 'Miracles In Our Midst.' Danae's story was submitted and picked in rough draft written by my mother. The 'writers' then called and interviewed me, finalizing the story from this interview. When the book was released, he decided to use his, 'favorite story' to promote the book on the internet. It happened to be Danae's story. People then began the long journey that has now revolved over and over all around the globe as they took that little story and forwarded it to their friends and loved ones. The story has been in numerous church newsletters, two magazines and has most recently been published in the latest 'Chicken Soup' book titled 'Chicken Soup For The Christian Family Soul.'

"Danae is now a lively, beautiful, active, free-spirited, blissful, God-loving fourth-grader. She is in the Gifted and Talented program. Still petite, but growing daily. She loves to play 'active' sports. Soccer, softball, basketball. She had taken gymnastics and loved it. Especially the fact that she shares a birthday with Shannon Miller, but decided to stick with the more aggressive sports. She swims like a little fish. Loves all animals. Has several of her own.

"Danae has a compassion for other people that I have never witnessed with another child and I work with children daily. She is a pure joy to be around and is NEVER at a loss for words. When I first began getting response from the story I was startled. I quickly realized that God was working his magic. I praised him for allowing me to be blessed in such a way that I see his well doings each and every day. My husband and I decided that if sharing Danae's story touched even one person, than that is what was meant to be. I know now that it has touched many, many and continues everyday. I am so grateful to know the Lord and to have him so evident before us. I am also thankful for the widespread response and blessings from so many of the people that have received the story and have been touched by it. Hopefully it will continue to spread the news of God's love.

"I knew when I first saw Danae that she could not and would not be contained. She screamed to be shared. We couldn't walk in the grocery store without someone commenting about her. So, I painfully acknowledged the fact that she would not be mine alone. Danae has a lot to give. This story is only the beginning.

"Thank you for taking the time to verify the truth. I am excited to imagine all the lives that will be touched even now that they know it is true!

Sincerely,

Diana Blessing-Luckiest Mom on Earth!

Dear Shoshana and Ate Liz

I failed the Bar Exams by a freaking 0.5%. That's all I needed -- 0.5 -- and I could have passed the damn thing. I'm still getting over the crappy feelings. It may take a while for my father to get over his.
I did not fail any subject. The culprit, however, was my score in Labor Law. Ironically, my highest score was in Taxation and I barely passed this subject when I was in Law School.
So, Ate Liz, is your offer still up for grabs?

A Memorable Day

I am 28 years old but I have never seen my father swimming or going near the water until yesterday. He has a water phobia. This is the first picture of him swimming with us. It took him a while to jump in.

It was funny but I guess you always find it funny if you don't understand the fear. He worried about the water rising. He worried about the rain making the water rise. But at last, he finally jumped in. Bravo Daddy!

Before and After Marriage on the Pool

We went swimming the other day which explains the latest pictures I posted of our family.
The whole place was packed with lovers. My mother, aunt and I had a blast making snide comments about the embracing couples.
At one point, I told Erbe, "Let's give them a show, ba. They're just embracing. Let's shock them. Let's pretend we're not married."
But then I felt itchy so I asked him to check my back.
He said, "There's dirt!"
In the local dialect, he said, "May lala!"
I was understandably mad, "Hah! You're the one to talk!"
I then started scrubbing his back to get the dirt as well.
What we didn't know was that my mother was listening to us. She then started laughing and gave her observation of the Before and After Marriage Scenes unfolding before her on the pool.
We started laughing with her as well.
We realized that our conversation proved the stark difference between us with our "lala" conversation and the couples embracing around us.

Why I Can't take a Bath for Longer than 5 Minutes

Isn't it weird? No matter how lousy you feel, the minute you take a bath, you feel a whole lot better. Bathing does that to me. I guess it's the reason why I can't sleep at night without having had taken a bath. It's the same reason why I put up a big ruckus if Erbe would refuse to take a bath at night. I'd argue that it's a matter of respect. If you respect your spouse, you would make sure that you would go to bed clean. That's all there is to it.

A while ago, Erbe was refusing to take a bath. He said, he wanted to go to sleep so he could get up early for work. This did not sit well with me. So, I turned on the television so freaking loud and turned on the computer stereo volume and threatened him with the noise all night long.
As I am typing this, he is taking his bath. Good.

The weird thing about me though is that although I take a bath at least three times a day, I can't stay in the bathroom for longer than 5 minutes -- even if it kills me!
It's not that I don't do all the girl stuff in there. I do. I shave.
I trimmed -- well, you know what.
Shampoo, conditioner, shampoo. rinse.
Soap. Keep it for 3 minutes.
Rinse.
Soap again. Rinse again.
Facial scrubs, body scrubs, rinse.
Everything! But for the life of me I can't stay there long enough to give justice to the words "leisurely bath".

I was once staying in this dormitory. There were at least 6 or more shower stalls but there was this particular shower stall where we all want to take our "leisurely bath". If I happen to be in the stall, I'd hear the girls waiting outside saying, "Who's in there? Tere? Oh, that's okay. She'll be out in 3 minutes."
Hmp!
So, I'd try and try to stay for longer than 3 minutes. I barely last five. *sigh

I guess I can blame this to my childhood. Well, you can blame everything to your childhood.
I lived with my cousins and my sister. There were ten of us who were fighting over the bathroom every morning. You'd have someone pounding on the door if you take longer than 5 minutes. So, I learn to move very, very fast.

-- the rest of this entry was deleted --

If a Picture Paints a Thousand Words

Cartoonize Me and Create My Own Avatar

You should really, really check out Befunky.com
It's a lot of fun!
Before they only offer this online tool where you could cartoonize yourself.
Now, they offer this tool that allows you to create your own avatar! It's not like other websites. Befunky allows you to upload your own picture and convert it to your own avatar. So, you have an avatar that looks like you! Great, right?!
I'm not getting paid for this. I just love the site an I want to share it. Hey! You can still cartoonize yourself. You should also check out the warp tool. You can make yourself thinner and leaner with that tool. It's really great!

Talking about Myself

I’m 28 years old. I have the legal right to vote but the last time I voted – I was 18.

I once wrote a series of mini-stories. The last time I heard, my sister’s classmates were reading that “book”. I never saw it again. I was in senior year high school.

Class of 1997.2001.2006.

In my spare time, I like to cook whatever catches my fancy. I am a mediocre cook but I can make you a mean beef pochero.

I love music especially country music and right now, I adore Taylor Swift.

I do not think of myself as a “big deal”.

I am a people person – when I feel like it.

I am far from being complicated, but I am extremely moody and gawd! I do have a terrible, terrible temper.

I don’t like my name.

I am extremely tall. I hated that fact when I was in High School.

I love horses. I always have. I love them as much as I love poetry and white daisies.

I am a crybaby. I cry at everything. I cry at stupid soppy commercials. And I couldn’t stop crying when Denny on Grey’s Anatomy died.

I am a movie geek. I download movies the minute they’re available online.

I have great friends. They’re all unique wonderful individuals. They’re all crazy too!

I was never the kind of girl who’d get Heartbroken for a long time. I don’t understand women/girls who’d do things just to get their men back. Sadly though, this attitude has led me to hurt and lose “people” that I truly cared about.

I hate small talks. They’re excruciatingly painful.

My biggest regret is the fact that I’ve written sappy love letters to all my exes. I cringe when I think of the things I said. Ugh. I’ve once written a 25-page letter to one ex. It’s practically a freaking thesis paper! I wish he has burnt that letter.

I’ve written poems for every ex and every crush and practically every guy I talked to. (rolling my eyes here)

I love taking a walk with Paige over the bridge near our house at sunset.

I hate Christmas. I’m one of those people who are depressed during the holidays.

I am fascinated with black and white photographs.

I love the rain. I love the feel of raindrops.

I am a mediocre painter, artist, singer and writer but I wish otherwise.

I hate slapsticks. I like people with cruel and wicked sense of humor.

I am naturally distrustful.

I like reading dailymail.co.uk. So, I’m updated on everything that’s happening in England. It’s weird. That site has the most fascinating stories.

I suffer from migraines.

I would love to meet Oprah.

I still dream of having curly hairs despite my one-time horrible experience with curly hair.

I love things messy.

I am the jeans and shirts type of girl/woman.

I love my husband’s adobo. There’s nothing in the world that tastes much better.

I love mocha cake and double dutch ice-cream.

I am a lover of books. The best places in the world to me are bookshops and libraries. The first time I saw the library scene in Beauty and the Beast, I envied Belle for all those books.

I would like to go Bungee Jumping or sky diving.

I am dreaming of visiting Scotland, especially the Highlands and I will soon.

I adore Erbe and Paige is my life.

I think no one in this world is as strong as my husband.

I sleep with mosquito net wrap around my feet but first I have to pry them off of my husband’s feet.

I hate someone. I wish she’d get a life so she’d stop living hers through mine.

I’ve said goodbye to a couple of friends. They’re no longer my friends. I don’t regret losing them.

I think of my Mom as the “Wind beneath My Wings”.

I love sleeping late. I like being awake when everybody else is asleep.

I am called Tere by many but my closest friends call me Tetet.

I’m a work in progress.

Insecurity

Insecurity is a feeling of general unease or nervousness that may be triggered by perceiving oneself to be unloved, inadequate or worthless (whether in a rational or an irrational manner).

A person who is insecure lacks confidence in their own value and capability, trust in themselves or others, or has fears that a present positive state is temporary and will let them down and cause them loss or distress by "going wrong" in future.

I've been accused of this.
It was a curious statement which made me laugh actually.
Ironically, my irritation combined with pity was mistaken for insecurity.
How can I be insecure when I won?

Dona Nobis Pacem

This is Mimi's project.

I think my Blogblast for Peace globe says it all --

Pinoywriterz Made Up for It

A big dilemma -- what will you do?

I was working for Pinoywriterz. I resigned after I was informed that I was not going to get paid for 3 days worth of articles. I was furious. I kept receiving files and I kept submitting files and apparently, they were reassigned. I did not sleep for those days. Admittedly, I was late but I kept updating and they kept updating for status. Paige was sick. My fault was that I kept accepting files although I was way behind with the previous topics. But I thought they understood my problem. Anyways, that's all under the bridge now. I've resigned.

I even posted a rant yesterday, but I deleted it after I calmed down. Now, my problem is that after I was informed that I was not going to get paid for 3-days worth of articles -- 25 articles all in all. I decided to post those articles online. I submitted them to ezinearticles and hubpages and posted some on my blog.

The project coordinator of pinoywriterz offered to give me "help". Help? Was I that pathetic? Probably. I was making such a huge ruckus about the salary -- meager amount. But that was not the point. Anyway, I did not say yes or no. I just said that if he did send me the money, I'd regard it as "payment" for the articles. Through this exchange of messages, I was the Doubting Thomas. I was thinking, "Send money? Yeah Sure!" -- with snort.

I posted all the articles yesterday night.

Today, I received payment. I do not regard it as help but payment. Although the project coordinator said it's "help". Now, I feel honor bound to remove all the articles I posted. But I don't know how to remove them from hubpages and ezine. And even if I did, Google has already crawled the articles and would credit them to me.

What do I do now? I did not expect to receive payments for all articles -- only for those articles I did not post. So, I think I'm going to send back the extra money. I can't risk legal issues here.

Anyway, I have to give credit to them for making amends. That was professional of them. And for accepting that they made a mistake about the whole thing. I posted the articles because I thought I was not going to get paid for them. Honestly thought they wouldn't pay anymore. Now, I have to find a way to give them back the money -- or rather to send back the money to the project coordinator.

A Guide to Starting a Catering Business

Are you wondering what is required when you’re starting a home base catering business or just starting a catering business? Well, catering is certainly a profitable business. So, it is not surprising why you are considering starting up your own business. Catering businesses abound all over the country.

Catering as a Business

Often, people would resort to catering as a solution to food problem. Businesses holding conventions or seminars would pay for catering. Parties – even children parties – are catered nowadays. Catering has also become a symbol of affluence. Not surprisingly, if you’re successful at it, you could earn a lot of money. There are a lot of events that needs catering services – lunches, meetings, parties, and wedding receptions. Caterers would even find themselves catering a candlelight wedding proposal dinner!

As a caterer, you could earn as much as $160,000 a year. Well, this is what you could earn if you’re a city bound catering business. Not bad, right? That is pretty good enough reason to say goodbye to your 8 to 5 day job.

“But I’m living in a small town in Minnesota!”

People who live in small town America can also earn half as much as a caterer in the city. Of course, if you’re only doing it part-time, you can earn as much as $20,000 a year. Indeed, the opportunities for caterers abound. Not surprisingly, many people are wondering what they need in starting a home catering business.

Starting a Catering Business – Steps to Follow

Make that decision. This is crucial to starting a catering business. You need to have the passion for it and the dedication to your goal. Like most businesses, you’d meet problems and setbacks along the way, but as long as you stick to that decision, you’d make it.

1. Apply for licenses. Your local health department will come to check on your business to make sure that you are complying with the health requirements for businesses. You should also prepare to show your certificate of occupancy, tax license and business name license.
2. Create a work plan. You should make sure that your work plan is reasonable and doable.
3. Know your business accounting. Yes, you are going to pay taxes. You might as well learn the financial side of your business. You need to know the basics of bookkeeping so you’d know how the money is moving in and out of your operations.
4. Purchase your catering tools. Purchase the necessary cooking utensils. Also, get tables and chairs. Obviously, you’d need them for catering. Get a supply of decorative props – table cloths, napkins, vases and so on.
5. Promote your business. Like most businesses, you need to invest money on marketing and advertising. You need this to jumpstart your business. Some caterers start with their families and friends and then they’d cross their fingers. You would get more business if more people know it exists!
6. Learn as much as you can about catering. If you would like to learn about your business, you should get hold of a book that will help you understand the ins and outs of starting a home catering business.

What You Need to Know about Starting a Catering Business

Are you considering starting a home catering business? Who can blame you? Catering is a feasible, doable and profitable business. This is the perfect career for people who love cooking and pleasing people with their food. The job of a caterer revolves around pleasing your customers. Otherwise, your business will not survive. You need to ensure that you present the perfect meal, desserts, appetizers and drinks. The food that you present can either kill or create a perfect occasion for your customer. This is especially true if you are catering a wedding or a conference.

Starting Your Catering Business

There are a lot of things that you need to consider before you start a catering business. You would have to consider your capital or start-up cost. If you don’t have the capital, you also need to consider your source of financing. Perhaps, you need to get a loan. You need to secure all the necessary licenses. A catering business needs appropriate catering equipment. You need to prepare a budget for marketing or advertising.

You need to consider the type of catering service you are going to put up, the type of events that you are going to cater to and the types of marketing strategies you are going to adopt. You may need insurance. All these things require that you create a business plan.

Learning Business Management

In starting a catering business, you need to learn how to manage your business. Like most businesses, you’d come across problems and stumbling blocks. You need to learn the technical side of your business – handling employees, accounting books, inventorying, et cetera.

You also need how to manage events. This is crucial to your business operations. You are basically going to manage an event from start to finish. You need to make sure that everything is perfect. You need to learn how to estimate the quantity of food you are going to prepare. Make sure that the food is enough but not too much. You also need to secure partners or contacts for decorating services since a catering business may require that you also provide the event’s décor. You might also need to get in touch with people who can provide you with entertainers if your customers request for this additional service.

Staring a Home Base Catering Service

If you’re thinking of cutting back on startup cost and you’re considering a home base catering service, do not let people discourage you from pursuing your dream. A home base catering service is actually easy if you are prepared to handle the possible setbacks.

The first thing that you need to do before you even purchase spoon and fork for your business is to make sure that your business is legitimate in your state. There are states that forbid home based catering businesses. You couldn’t possibly get a license if your business is illegal in the first place.

When starting a business, you might need all the help you can get. If it is home based, you’d probably start with small dinners and birthday parties. You would need someone to help you with the cooking. If you can’t afford a couple of employees, perhaps, you can get a friend or a family to help you out.

Wedding Speeches: Preparing the Perfect Words

Wedding speeches should be humorous and heartwarming. Unfortunately, many people who deliver speeches do not prepare for their speech. So, often they’d end up stuttering or spouting inappropriate clichés.

Types of Wedding Speeches

There are basically three kinds of wedding speeches – the father-of-the-bride speech, the bridegroom speech and the best man’s speech. Often, it is the bride’s father who’d kicked off that portion of the wedding. The host or the toastmaster would call on the father. If you’re the father, you are expected to deliver a funny and warm speech. You’re supposed to extend your warm wishes to the newlyweds. It’s nice to inject in a little humor to your speech, but avoid nasty comments against your son-in-law. Putting down the groom would ruin the whole occasion. Avoid crude jokes and especially avoid taking the opportunity to talk about yourself.

After the father has finished his speech, the groom would then deliver his own speech. If you’re the groom, this is the perfect opportunity for you to extend your gratitude towards your parents. Also, it is a good idea to take your time to extend a word to your bride’s parents. Extend your gratitude to all to the guests as well. The gist of this speech is to give thanks to everyone attending the occasion. You can finish your speech with a few words to your new wife.

The famous of all wedding speeches is the best man’s speech. This is the portion of the occasion where you’d literally see people cringing and ducking for cover to snicker when a not-too loquacious best man delivers his speech. Best man speeches require warmth and humor. This is not the time to reminisce about your time in Mexico with the groom and how much fun he had with the ladies. Humor should be lighthearted and heartwarming and yes, very, very entertaining.

Giving Funny Wedding Speeches

Getting asked to give a wedding speech is an honor. On a day where all eyes are supposed to be on the bride and groom, you’re given the honor to stand up in front of everyone and express your thoughts about the couple and their future. This is not easy especially for the faint hearted and for those who do not exactly have the gift of gab. This is especially hard for people whose punch lines always fall short since wedding speeches are almost always expected to be funny. However, if you prepare your speech ahead of time and practice, perhaps you might just have the crowd rolling with laughter.

“But I don’t know how to write speeches, let alone a wedding speech!”

True, you may not necessarily have the wedding speech muse with you. However, you always have the Internet. There are a lot of websites that offer free and paid wedding speeches. These are speeches that are not too cliché, not too corny – just perfect! You could use the same speech or you could tweak a few paragraphs or sentences to suit your own story and thoughts. After you’ve prepared your speech, you can then focus on the art of delivering great speeches. But this is another article.

Tips on How to Barbecue Safely

There are actually thousands of barbecue tips that you could find online. All these tips are designed to help you pull a successful and delicious barbecue. Depending on what tips you’re looking for, you can find tips on how to cut the food, particularly the meat; what type of high-powered grill to use – or if you really need to use a high-powered one; how to achieve the taste that you’re aiming for, how to prepare your barbecue, and so on. But have you ever read any article on how to ensure safety when barbecuing? You’d probably heard of stories of uncontrolled heat and barbecue grills going up on fire. You’d be lucky if you only burn the meat.

Barbecue Safety Tip #1 – Positioning the Grill Properly

There are some things that you can do to ensure your safety when barbecuing. First of all, you need to choose a safe location for your grill. Make sure that you keep the grill away from overhanging constructions, bushes and trees. Imagine fire going up and ask yourself, “Will my roof catch fire? Will these overhead hanging plants catch fire?” Make sure that you keep your barbecue grill away from anything and everything flammable.

If you’re having company and you’re expecting a considerable number of visitors, make sure that you keep the grill away from where you’d expect your guests to occupy. If your brothers or friends are fond of playing football or soccer when having barbecue, make sure that you keep the grill away from where the ball can land. Also, make sure you won’t have to back up your grill to keep it away from the game. You’d ensure that won’t have ruined grilled food or burnt guest. If you could, place the grill in an area near a water hose or water outlet.

Barbecue Safety Tip #2 – Wearing the Right Clothing Gear

Aside from the location, you should also be careful with choosing the proper utensils for grilling. You wouldn’t want to get burn, would you? So, make sure you are using the correct grilling utensils. It is also wise to dress properly when grilling. You may think this is going over the top with grilling safety. But there are stories of loose clothes catching fire. So, make sure your clothes are not too loose or are easily flammable. Also wear protective clothing like the appropriate gloves for grilling.

Barbecue Safety Tip #3 – Using the Grill Properly

Aside from grill location and clothing safety, you should also be careful when using your grill. You should not obsess about grilling at the expense of ensuring you are following the right procedures for lighting and using your grill. If your grill is lit, do not pour anything flammable onto it. Many people do this unmindful of the possible consequences. It is a good idea to arrange fire resistant bricks on the sides of the grill stove Exert extra care when opening the grill. There are stories of people opening the grill far too quickly and the resulting injuries from the smoke and steam.

Learn the Art to Enjoy the Benefits of Speed Reading

Have you seen someone speed reading? You practically stared amazed by how they practically just skimmed through pages and close the book fully comprehending the contents. You probably thought, “Why can’t I read like that!” Well, people have different reading speeds. There are people who are very lucky to have acquired the skill of speed reading over time. Perhaps, there are people for whom the skill comes naturally. Most speed readers, however, have developed speed reading techniques over time.

The Benefits of Speed Reading

The benefits of speed reading are countless. First of all, speed reading allows you to save time. Actually, this benefit pretty much encapsulates all the benefits of speed reading. When you read fast, you save time and you’d soon end reading fast so you basically conserve your energy. Reading with comprehension forces your brain to work. This can be exhausting. This is probably why there are many people who are not too fond of reading, but people who have developed of speed reading will embrace a book with 2000 pages without flinching.

Reading will allow you to read twice as much as any regular reader would. So, you’d know more and learn more. Not surprisingly, speed readers generally excel well in school and work. This makes you an even better asset at work and an excellent student in school.

Improving Your Reading Skills

If you are wondering how you could improve your speed reading skills, you should definitely consider speed reading courses. You’d find many of these courses online. By taking up speed reading programs, you’d be able to find yourself speed reading in no time at all. Imagine how impress your boss will be if you are able to finish more work than usual.

There are several ways that you can learn the speed reading techniques –

First is by attending speed reading courses. Most courses have speed reading coaches that are speed readers themselves. You’d notice a vast improvement with your reading skills in a matter of days. However, there are students that may require time to learn the skills on time.

You can also try getting your hands on materials and books. These books are based on speed reading programs designed by experts to help you learn the art of fast reading. You’d probably find books with lessons and quizzes as well as techniques to help you master the art fast.

However, if you’re not too keen about learning from books, you could also try speed reading software. A lot of these software are available online. You’d be entertained by the animation and quizzes. You’d find it easier to learn if you are learning at your own pace; and speed reading software allows you to set your own pace. You also wouldn’t get bored as quickly as you would with a book.

If you wish to learn how to speed read and if you want to enjoy the many benefits of speed reading, you should definitely consider taking up courses or joining speed reading programs.

Barbecue Tips: Preparing Your Barbecue to Perfection

You probably think that a perfect barbecue is not that difficult. You just basically prepare the grill, put out the meat, call your friends and have fun. Well, that’s great. But have you ever wondered if your guests truly enjoyed your grilled meat? You might not know this but barbecuing requires some skill. No, it’s not about slathering some grocery-bought sauce on the meat and slapping it on the grill. It requires some skill. In fact, there are rules on how to prepare the perfect barbecue.

The Basics on Barbecue

When you speak of barbecuing, you generally refer to cooking on a grill. All over the world, you’d find people barbecuing their food, using just about any thing – wood and three pebbles, a stick held over fire, and in the Western countries, the most high-tech electric grills. Regardless of what you are using though, you need to know the techniques on how to properly barbecue so you could prepare a fine barbecue meal. Even food prepared over three stones, wood and fires can taste exquisitely if you know how to properly barbecue your food.

What can you barbecue? Well, positively almost anything! You can barbecue fish, vegetables, cheese, fruit, bread and of course, meat. In fact, if you’re having a Sunday Barbecue Day with your family, you could practically grill everything.

What Am I Doing Wrong?

You’re probably thinking, “I’ve barbecued my whole life! What can I possibly be doing wrong?” Well, perhaps, you’re one of the few who has barbecuing down to a fine art. But generally, however, what people do is that they prepare the grill too hot so they burn the food. You’d know if you have burn the meat because you’d see black lines running through. If there are any marks to the grilled food, they should be brown and not black. If there are black marks, the meat was either grilled for too long or was placed in a really high temperature grill.

Barbecue Tips – How to Plan a Barbecue

When you’re going to hold a barbecue party or even if you are just going to barbecue meat for dinner, you need to plan your food so you’d know your guests would have a great time. Carefully consider your food. Make sure that you can handle the food that you’re going to cook. Perhaps, you’re thinking, “I’ll just do burgers and sausages. At least, that’s easy.” Surprisingly, burgers and sausages are not that easy to barbecue. Of course, you can always slap them on the grill and hope for the best. However, the fine art of barbecuing requires that you should know how to barbecue food as simple as sausages and burger. First of all, these foods are high in fat. Yes, you need to let at little fat drip off from the food, drop onto the coals, so it’d create the smoke that gives your food the flavor it needs. However, burn too much fat and you burn the food. You’d also put the whole grill on fire! Perhaps, you could start with fish. They’re always easier to cook.

Digital Photography Tips for Beginners

So, you've finally bought your first digital camera? Congratulations! You're probably excited and you're wondering where you could find some digital photography tips to help you great photo results. A good advice, however, to digital photography beginners is that you need to practice. You need to get out there and get those pictures! The earlier you make mistakes, the earlier you'd learn how to really take great pictures.

What are the mistakes that photography beginners make?

Mistakes on digital photography are natural. Beginners would make mistakes that would waste a lot of shots. So, it is wise to read some digital photography tips that would help you avoid the mistakes that beginners typically make. But what are these mistakes?

The first mistake that beginners usually make is putting too much images in one picture. The whole picture becomes one messy unfocused picture. You'd find different subjects in one photograph. This is not fun to look at. It's confusing so people would not really want to look at it.

Another mistake that beginners usually make is not bothering to create more artistic and focused photos. The picture need not be center-oriented. The goal is to create photos that are good regardless of what angle you look at it and regardless of what side of the picture you stared at.

The last mistake of a digital photography beginner is taking pictures without really knowing how to handle the camera properly. They end up with pictures that are overexposed, underexposes or blurry.

Digital Photography Tips

If you are new to digital photography, here are some digital photography tips that would serve you well as you are learning the craft and developing the skills of creating great pictures:

1. Familiarize yourself with your camera. This may seem dreary to you but this is important. If you want to know what your camera is capable of doing, what its limitations are and how you can maximize its use will help you create great pictures.

2. Practice taking pictures. The art of photography is also a skill. You'll get better at it as you practice more.

3. Take as many pictures as you can and want. Most digital cameras have memory cards that would allow you to take as many pictures as you want. You can also get an extra memory card so you can take more pictures.

4. Use your camera's features and maximize its capabilities.

5. Learn how to frame your shots. This is often the mistakes of beginners. They do not know how frame their photos properly. So, they could place the photo's subject dead center. They could end up cutting the face or placing the subject too far right. Good framing would mean a lot of difference on the outcome of the picture.

6. Learn various compositional techniques. Again, you could avoid the second biggest mistake of most beginners by shifting the subject of center to either the left or right. Avoid placing your subject on the middle of the photograph. This has been overused before and has become quite boring.

7. Take more close-ups. They are more striking and interesting.

8. Be conscious of picture's lightning. Bad lightning can ruin what should have been a good shot.

9. Don't be afraid to explore and to try out new shots.'

10. Never forget to take photos as memories. These types of photos have more heart.