So This Is Christmas

Merry Christmas is such an infectious feeling I like to feel that way all year around.

So if you are visiting just before Christmas, just after Christmas or even here on Christmas day I am sure you will find something of interest for you and in the spirit of Christmas.

It may be said that Christmas is no longer a celebration but this must be spoken by people that have never had trouble closing their eyes on Christmas Eve in an expectation of what maybe left for them on the carpet under the tree.

I continue to look forward to the surprise on my Grandchild's faces to this day at Christmas events.

Merry Christmas - Merry Christmas - Merry Christmas

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Have Clean, Pure Water With An Expresso Water Filtration System

By Raza Lansing

There are many home water filtration systems to choose from. Consequently, you should know about one particular aspect that characterizes a reliable filtration system. For every consumer the primary piece of information to realize is that almost all the brand-name units include a multi stage procedure founded on activated carbon filtration.

Normally, Expresso Water Filtration System contain activated carbon filters which remove the damaging chemicals that may be in the water supply.

The first phase is mechanical filtration, which gets rid of tiny microscopic materials that ruin the taste of water and darken it. Mechanical filtration is able to remove substances such as chlorine and most sediments. Chlorine is one of the most common chemicals in our water, and it is the main reason for the bitter taste and unhealthiness of our water.

The processes of absorption and ion exchange are the second and third phases in water purification. These two processes cleanse the water chemically, that is to say, by breaking down chemical materials then removing them from the water. The toxins filtered out by these tasks include residual cleaners and fertilizers which are odorless and tasteless but definitely not harmless. On account of the complexity of eliminating these compounds, in spite of the possible dangers, water treatment plants are not expected to remove them from your tap water.

This is the reason why the most effective Expresso Water Filtration System should not only clean the most apparent elements such as chlorine and sediments but should make our water free from those less obvious dangerous chemicals. Every one of these compounds, including chlorine, have been identified as primary reasons for the rise in cancer and degenerative nervous disorders during the last century.

So given that you understand the need for a multi-stage filtration process, how many brands of home water filtration systems are left to take your pick from? Quite a few, but the most effective have certain features that you should make certain your model offers. Firstly, the best systems are guaranteed to filter out what they say they can filter out. They are also accompanied by superb technical support, unlimited warranties, and money back guarantees.

These home water filtration systems are easy to install and maintain, and can filter your water for less than ten cents for every gallon of water. You can purchase a whole home system or you could choose to filter a few taps in your home, primarily those you use more frequently.

Aquasana RHINO EQ-300 Home Water Filter: The Rhino EQ-300 Whole House Water Filter has completed three years of assessment by Underwriters Laboratories. The Aquasana, the production facility and all claims of service are attested to by UL using the most rigorous industry regulations.

Jupiter Melody JP 104: Jupiter Melody JP 104 water ionizer is also described as an Alkalizing Water Purifier. The unit is considered a Point-of-Use counter-top unit, and hooks up to the faucet either through the diverter valve, or directly plumbed into cold water pipe. Jupiter Melody Water Ionizer includes a hot water and low pressure protection, and 9 Level Settings - 4 level settings of alkaline water, 4 level settings of acidic water, 1 level setting of purified water.

About the Author:

Ways to help a Dance Recital Run Smoother

By Ocianne Lambert

Dance recitals are a time for your little one to showcase her talent. She's been practicing those dance routines for months and now its time for her to shine. Even though it is an exciting time, it can also be a stressful one. Here are some ways that will help things run a little smoother on the big day.

Plan ahead. Start planning for the recital at least a week before the performance. Make a list of everything you may need, such as tights, costumes, special dance shoes, and accessories.

Get plenty of rest. Make certain she gets enough sleep. Dance recitals are tiring enough, so getting extra sleep the week of the recital will go a long way.

Make certain she has plenty of energy. Recitals can take up a lot of time, so pack plenty of water or Gatorade for her to drink to keep her energy high. Have her favorite snacks packed as well, and make certain to bring some snacks for yourself too.

Arrive on time. Make arrangements so you can arrive to the performance early to give yourself time to set up. Your child will thank you later for the extra time for her to get ready.

Label all of your items. Make certain that all your costumes and items are properly labeled so you can keep track of them. A lot of the other dance students could be in the same size costumes or shoes as your daughter, so labeling them will help make certain your items won't get lost or taken on accident.

Bring Entertainment. Recitals can have long stretches in between dance numbers. Bring a few quiet games, such as a deck of cards, to help pass the time during the more boring parts of the event.

Breathe. Keep in mind that recitals normally only happen once during the year. It's not always easy watching your child perform, but try to relax and enjoy watching your young dancer up on the stage.

About the Author:

Make Someone Happy With Gifts For Him

By Harris Roberts

Personalized knives and flasks, engraved stainless smart money clips, and engravable mugs and steins are as manly as any gift that you can find. These items are gifts for him who values presents of timeless worth and excellent craft. These are no frills, personal, and gifts that could be more valuable than their prices suggest.

A personalized flask, in simple terms, is nothing but a container of alcohol drinks that its owner can carry conveniently in a pocket in his person, taken out from time to time, for its drink ability. It appears to be nothing but a trivial object, but personal ownership of an item raises its value. A person who keeps an item in his person for a long time will learn to value that item for more than its real worth.

Women normally are the ones who do the buying of gifts for him, but men can sometimes do the buying of presents for their male buddies. The reason for the gift-giving can be very varied. For special occasions or a simple gesture of support and joy for a sending-away get-together or a party for a friend who recently retired, or to celebrate a colleague's passing the state board.

Other gifts for the male of the human species could include key chains, golf gifts, and wooden cigar boxes. Chances are any or all of these can pair off with any of a man's passion, be it the game of golf or smoking imported cigars. The good thing about these gifts is that they will never go out of style and will be of use to the receiver of the gift or someone else who gets a hold of it.

Another practical reason to get a hold of these gifts is the relatively inexpensive costs they mean for the one giving the gifts. For under $50 or even much cheaper than that, you can have two to three items to give as gifts. Not only can you stay on your budget, you can also make someone happy who will receive gifts for a special event and find a good use for these items.

About the Author:

Burglar Alarms - Letting You Enjoy Life with Lesser Worries

By Patrick Magins

Homes secured with burglar alarms have homeowners that sleep better. It needs no further explanation. These homeowners need not wake up in the middle of the night, restlessly checking their doors every two hours just to see if they are properly secured and these homeowners do not stay up late listening to strange sounds that could very well be burglars and intruders prowling around in their garage.

A home alarm is therefore a good investment. Sometimes though there are some systems that give you a false sense of security. You might think that your home is protected but when a real break in occurs, your alarms could fail to function properly. This may be due to several factors. Its possible that you really have an unreliable product installed. Its also possible though that the installation itself or the product type could be the problem.

You cant just set up an alarm. To truly enjoy the benefits of a reliable system, there are a couple of considerations that you need to think of. You should first of all, have a plan set down before you go about hooking up an alarm system to your home.

Consider several points when planning the type of alarm you are getting. On top of the list is the type of alarm you will be installing. Alarms can be wireless or wired. Wired systems are often recommended for houses that are still under construction since hard wiring is required. They may not however be suitable for houses that are already constructed. Hard wiring may involve steeper costs and more effort. For homes that are already finished, wireless options may be more appropriate.

You do not have to settle for just burglar alarms. This is a second point you can look into. Basic home security may simply include alarms and a control panel. Comprehensive systems however now offer homeowners other device options. These days, alarms can work well with cameras, sensors and detectors. Incorporating more devices can go a long way towards further ensuring your protection.

A third point to consider is monitoring. Alarms have now evolved into more than just complicated noisemakers. They can now be monitored by external facilities that can send police help in your behalf in case of a break in. Subscriptions for monitoring may be a little expensive but the extra feature can sometimes spell the difference between life and death.

You do not have to worry about the placement of wired alarms. Since wiring is involved, expert installers often have to perform the task themselves. Wireless components however need to be set up correctly to work efficiently. This is another important point that should go into your plan. If you are going to install your system yourself, you need to take note of product recommendations for distances between components. Some systems fail to perform if components are set too far apart or are separated by obstacles.

When it comes to intrusion - or discouraging it, burglar alarms are still the best options. You are more likely to be able to sleep tight though if you make sure that your security system has been planned carefully and correctly.

About the Author:

4 Entertaining Xmas Present Games

By Ellie Evergreen

This Christmas families everywhere will be exchanging gifts. This is an age old tradition. However this Christmas may have to be different you will not be able to rely on really amazing presents like before. Normally the present itself is at the center of the excitement of the holidays. However, what do you do when you could not get the exact toy that your child wanted? This is where a great holiday gift exchange game can play an important role. Gift games make it more fun to open the present rather than to have it. It focuses on the importance of giving and spending time with family rather than if you got the latest item that was on TV. A game of Secret Santa can do more to make the holidays magical than the best presents ever made. Here are some fun games that you can play with Christmas presents this year.

The first game is Unwrap the presents. It is like a present version of Musical Chairs. Each gift is bought within a set budget of normally around $10 to $20. Then a gift is randomly selected. As in musical chairs a song or music is played as the gift is passed around. When the music stops the person who last had the gift strips away one layer of wrapping paper. The process is repeated until all the gifts are unwrapped. The person who removes the last layer of wrapping paper gets the gift.

The next gift game is Dirty Santa. For this game everyone buys a gift at a set budget. It would be a good idea to make it affordable so everyone in your family can play. Then everyone can start playing. The first person picks a gift then following people have the option when their turn comes to pick a gift from the pile or steal a gift from one of the people that preceded them. If a person has their gift stolen from them they can go a pick a new one from the pile. This continues until everyone has gotten a present. The fun in the game is trying to anticipate which wrapped present is the best. In a way you can say it is like the game show Deal or No Deal. The point is to protect the gift that you think has the most value.

There is also a game you can play with stocking stuffers. Get a traditional Christmas stocking and fill it with small toys and other goodies. It is then the responsibility of the each participant to accurately guess as many items as possible. Each item the player guesses right they get to keep.

Another game to play is Present Poke. You basically play for the presents. The rules are simple you can play any form of poker your family knows the bests. A small selection is gifts that are used instead of chips. Then you play with the player who wins the whole game getting the largest share of the presents while anyone who folded to keep their winnings can keep what they won before they tapped out.

Something special you can do for your kids is to have them to receive a letter from Santa. This is a good opportunity to do something that will add a little magic to your children's Christmas. Each letter can be personalized and comes with Santa Claus's signature.

About the Author:

Can You Make Apple Cider?

By Andy Garvin

Apple cider is a classic New England beverage that can be consumed and enjoyed on several occasions. It's typically a holiday treat served during Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Traditionally, apple cider is made from unfiltered apple juice, often served hot and flavored with spices. If you're planning to treat your holiday guests to this delicious drink, you'll want to have a good apple cider recipe on your hands.

One hot apple cider recipe calls for maple syrup, cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice berries, and orange and lemon peels. The main component is apple cider itself, which can either be purchased or homemade. A cider press can help you extract the juice from the apples if you want your cider to be more authentic. However, this takes a lot of time and patience and it's more practical to just buy some.

No one will frown upon you for this, especially after they taste how good your cider is. Whichever you decide, when you have your apple cider, you mix it with maple syrup in a sauce pan, and then you wrap the cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice berries and fruit peels in a cloth and drop it into the cider and syrup mixture. Then you simply heat the sauce pan until the cider is hot but not boiling. At this point, you take out the spice bundle and the apple cider is ready to serve.

Variations on the hot apple cider recipe can switch up the spices and flavorings used. Some examples of additional ingredients are nutmeg, brown sugar and cardamom. If you want a richer texture and flavor, you can add butter, and if you plan to make your apple cider alcoholic, you can add some rum or brandy to the mix.

If you're looking for a cold apple cider recipe, it uses similar ingredients except you may use juices, like orange and lemon juice instead of maple syrup and peels. Stir everything in a punch bowl and chill the mixture, and then you're done. Cold apple cider can also be made from a hot apple cider recipe-in this case, you chill the mixture that you've heated instead of serving it right away. Using the same recipe to make both hot and cold apple cider can satisfy everyone's temperature preferences. But regardless of whether it's hot or cold, drinking apple cider is a great way to celebrate the fall or winter season. Just make sure that there's enough to go around!

About the Author:

Buying Clothes For The Baby

By Amy Andrews

You may get a lot of great things when you have a baby shower. Many people love to buy baby clothes for the new baby, so this may be a very common gift. When you get these things home, you may find some are not to your liking and you take them back for something else, but many of the outfits and other items are going to be great. You do not want to take these items of babies clothing and place them in a dresser, stand, or closet to wait for your baby to wear them. You have to clean them first, and you have to keep a few things in mind after they come home as well.

Anything that is going to touch your baby's skin will need to be cleaned in a detergent that is made for that reason. Ivory Snow was one such product, but it may not be on the market any longer. You can also look for and purchase Dreft in your local store or online in some cases. There are others that work well for babies clothing too, so see what you can find. The main point is that the detergent is gentle without anything that will irritate the soft, sensitive skin of a baby. You may want to use this for one year and then you can see what happens. Most babies are fine after that time, but some continue to have sensitive skin issues.

When you purchase or receive your new car seat for your baby, you should give it the same treatment you would your babies clothing. You want to take off the fabric parts (do so carefully so you do not lose anything and so that you know how to put it back together) and put them in the wash with the special detergent as well. The same can be said for any crib seats, changing pad liners, and all blankets that will be in contact with your baby's skin. If your baby will touch it, wash it.

There are going to be times when you have a need to remove a stain from babies clothing items. At no time in our lives are we quite as messy as we are when we are under three years of age. You may be tempted to use your regular stain stick or spray, but that is not a good idea either. There are some stain sprays made just for babies clothing, and Dreft makes one of them. Read labels before you buy so you know the solution will not irritate baby's skin and then use as directed.

If any of the babies clothing items you get or buy are dry clean only, make sure you let your dry cleaner know that you want them to use something gentle. The very nature of dry cleaning may ensure everything is fine, but you want to ask and be sure they understand. If your baby breaks out easily, you may want to use detergents and cleaners made just for babies much longer than one year old. Remember that anything you use in your home could irritate them, so read all labels carefully, even when you are cleaning something other than babies clothing.

About the Author:

Perfect Occasions For Personalized Sweets

By Michael Parker

One of the best sweets is retro sweets and they are not commonly sold on just any shop at the grocery or at the corner. Only select and dedicated sellers consistently sell them. Retro sweets are made of many candies, lollies, gums, chocolates, and a lot more. All of them come in many shapes, colors, sizes, and flavors. When someone eats a retro sweet, he can't help but feel warping back in time. However, these sweets are not only meant to be enjoyed by one but of everyone and therefore it has a lot of uses. As gifts is one of them.

Sweets may be ordinary but once they are personalized they instantly become special. Personalized sweets are great gifts and it's good to know that shops offer them as pre-packaged items. This way people only have to buy them, add a note, and it's ready as a gift. People giving gifts mean that there is an occasion that needs to be commemorated. These special occasions which personalized sweets are perfect are:

Anniversaries. Personalized sweets are perfect as gifts or even giveaways to just every kind of anniversaries. May it be for wedding anniversaries or company anniversary, it doesn't really matter. So long as something is celebrated, sweets are the greatest choices.

Christmas. This occasion is synonymous to presents. Therefore, when everyone is expecting a little something, it is a good idea to give retro sweets. Everyone loves any kind of gift during Christmas and personalized sweets will surely be favorites.

Weddings. When people attend weddings, they bring gifts for the newly weds. But in return, the newly weds give gifts, too. These are called giveaways and they can be in forms of scented candles, handicrafts, beaded items and sweets. Especially when they are added some personal touches, the more they become special.

Apology. To make a mistake is not to be celebrated but the realization of it and repentance is. When people ask for forgiveness, if they truly mean it, they make an effort to make the apology worthwhile, bold and sincere. They do this through sincere words written in special notes together with charming gifts such as stuffed toys, flowers, jewels, and personalized sweets.

About the Author:

If You Are Unable To Be There But Want To Show You Love Them Then Send -