by editor | Jun 22, 2012 | Lifestyle
Furnishing A Small Apartment
Small flats and apartments can be great; if you choose the right furniture to go in them, and don’t let them get overcrowded with belongings. The secret to doing this is to decorate and furnish the flat as one unit rather than looking at each room separately.
So, for example, choose furniture from one store to give a feeling of cohesion. There are ranges of furniture which can complement both a dining room and living room. If you have a kitchen diner, you can choose a practical table that will double up as an extra food preparation surface. Position the table near to the working end of the kitchen so that you don’t have to carry items to and from the table too much.
A dining table with extending leaves often works well in a small property, as you can fold down the leaves outside of meal times, increasing the feeling of space in the room. Many stores now sell dining room sets – a table and four or six chairs – which offer good value compared with buying a table and chairs separately.
When furnishing the bedroom, look out for units that contain both hanging space and drawers. You might consider getting fitted wardrobes built-in along one wall of the bedroom. Although you’ll lose a bit of the floor space, you can create a great amount of hidden storage there.
The lounge area can also have extra storage space inside furnishings like the sofa and coffee table. These are great places to put items like magazines, books and DVDs.
The best place to look out for bargains and furniture sales is on the internet. For example, you can see the latest offers from Harveys Furniture on YouTube, as well as catching up on the archive of the store’s funny ads from over the years!
by editor | Jun 20, 2012 | Lifestyle
Living in the Same Box
David Wallechinsky in The Complete Book Of The Olympics (Penguin Books, 1984) gives us a story that is worth retelling.
It is 1936. American Jesse Owens seems sure to win the long-jump competition in the Olympic games. The previous year he had jumped 26 feet, 8 1/4 inches – a record that will stand for 25 years.
As he walks to the long-jump pit, however, Owens sees a tall, blue-eyed, blond German taking practice jumps in the 26-foot range. Owens feels nervous. He is acutely aware of the Nazis’ desire to prove “Aryan superiority.” And as a black son of a sharecropper, he knows what it is like to be made to feel inferior.
On his first jump, Owens inadvertently leaps from several inches beyond the takeoff board. Rattled, he fouls on his second attempt, too. One more foul and he will be eliminated.
At this point, the tall German introduces himself as Luz Long. “You should be able to qualify with your eyes closed!” he says to Owens, referring to his upcoming two jumps.
For the next few moments, the African American and the white Nazi chat together. Then Long makes a suggestion. Since the qualifying distance is only 23 feet, 5 1/2 inches, why not make a mark several inches before the takeoff board and jump from there, just to play it safe? Owens does and qualifies easily.
In the finals, Owens sets an Olympic record and earns the second of four gold medals. But who is the first person to congratulate him? Luz Long – in full view of Adolf Hitler.
Owens never again sees Long, who is later killed in World War II. “You could melt down all the medals and cups I have,” Owens later writes, “and they wouldn’t be a plating on the 24-carat friendship I felt for Luz Long.”
Luz Long made his mark in world history and taught the rest of us a valuable lesson.
Someone else put it like this: “We can learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp… some are pretty… some are dull… some have weird names… and all are different colors…. But they all have to learn to live in the same box.”
– Steve Goodier
Find Steve Goodier here: http://stevegoodier.blogspot.com/.
Newsletter: http://LifeSupportSystem.com.
by editor | Jun 20, 2012 | Lifestyle
Brush Up On Your Barbeque Etiquette
Summer has arrived, marking the beginning of the barbeque season. This is the
time of the year when the grill is hauled out and cleaned off, the required
cooking utensils are inventoried, the lawn furniture is hosed down, and the
sauces and rubs are added to the grocery list. It is also the time for
revisiting your barbeque etiquette.
If barbeque etiquette sounds like an oxymoron, it isn’t. There are indeed rules
for properly conducting yourself as a host and as a guest. Just because these
festive events are held outdoors and are casual in nature does mean that
anything goes. Whether the occasion is for business such as the company picnic
or simply a neighborhood gathering, there are standards to follow.
Etiquette Tips for the Hosts:
1. Be prepared. That means making sure you have enough of everything from
charcoal or propane to food and beverages and don?t forget the cups, plates and
napkins. Grandma?s china and crystal are not appropriate substitutes when you
run out of serving items.
2. Have a rain plan. While rain should be forbidden during outdoor events, it
will occasionally show up. Either arrange for tents or know how you will handle
an indoor picnic.
3. Provide all the food and beverage. Unless you are hosting a family reunion
or the traditional neighborhood party, don?t ask people to bring things.
4. Have plenty of bug spray and insect repellent. Your guests should be the
ones eating, not eaten. If you live in a ‘buggy’ environment, it is a good idea
to have food domes on hand, not only to keep certain foods warm, but to keep
flying pests out of your culinary delights.
Etiquette Tips for the Guests:
1. Keep your grilling advice to yourself. Your host is in charge of the grill.
You may have what you consider is a better way of doing of things, but unless
you see that the host is about to set the place on fire, keep your mouth shut.
Open it only for conversation and food.
2. Leave your legendary potato salad at home. Unless you are asked to bring a
dish, don’t. It would be an insult to your host.
3. Volunteer to help. Now that?s good barbeque etiquette. These events can get
hectic at the last minute so offer your assistance in case it is needed.
4. Use your napkin to clean off your sticky fingers. Tempting as it may be to
lick your fingers, it is simply not good manners. Neither is using your finger
nail or toothpick to pick the corn out from between your teeth. Be sure to have
dental floss on hand, but excuse yourself to use it.
Etiquette Tips for the Business Barbecue
1. Maintain your professionalism. While you are there to have fun, be mindful of
your actions and your words.
2. Dress like a professional. Business attire is not expected, but make sure
that your casual dress is conservative. Avoid anything that is sloppy, shabby,
sexy or revealing.
3. Hold back when serving yourself. Piling on as much food as your plate will
hold makes you look like you only came to eat. You can go back for more once
everyone has been served.
4. Play it safe with the drinks. If alcohol is being served, limit your intake.
Warm weather, alcoholic beverages and a company barbecue can be a dangerous
combination.
Barbecues and picnics provide a relaxed way for family, friends and co-workers
to gather together, to catch up and get to know each other better. Enjoy
yourself and others but always be mindful of your manners. Demonstrate your best
barbecue etiquette so you will be invited back and you will still have a job on
the next working day.
© 2012, Lydia Ramsey. All rights reserved. Reprints welcomed so long as article
and by-line are kept intact and all links made live.
Lydia Ramsey is an international business etiquette expert, based in Savannah,
Georgia. Through her keynote addresses, live seminars, executive coaching, her
books and other products, she has helped individuals and organizations add the
polish that builds profits. Visit her website to learn more:
http://www.mannersthatsell.com
by editor | Jun 20, 2012 | Lifestyle
Do All the Good You Can
Someone advised, “If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.”
You’ve probably heard it said that it’s nice to be important, but it’s important to be nice. And there’s truth in that. But isn’t there something even more important than being nice? More important even that being good? What about DOING good? What about standing up and being counted? When courageous people take unpopular stances, they aren’t always seen by their opposition in a soft and gentle light.
Not too long into the American Civil War the Union finally won a victory at Antietam. President Lincoln used the occasion to produce a proclamation to free American slaves. He called his cabinet together and laid the document before them. He had been shaking the hands of well-wishers all morning and his arm and hand were stiff. He rested his arm and spoke to Secretary of State William Seward.
“If my name ever goes into history, it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it. If my hand trembles when I sign the Proclamation, all who examine the document hereafter will say, ‘He hesitated.’”
Then he picked up a pen and signed “Abraham Lincoln” in bold writing. There were a large number of people that day who would not have used the word “nice” to describe his action. In fact, a great many not only couldn’t say anything kind, they couldn’t even be vague. He was slandered, maligned and demonized. But that signature, coupled with a later Union victory, changed the course of history forever. American slaves were finally to be freed.
How many slave-owners of the day were reputed to be nice people? And in most areas of their lives, many probably were. But there comes a time for each of us to stand up and do right thing. To DO good.
I hope that that my personal moral code will always be broader than simply trying to be a pleasant person. I hope I don’t back down when I have a chance to DO good, to make a real difference, even at a cost.
I don’t think it was never put better by anyone than by eighteenth century church reformer John Wesley.
“Do all the good you can,
by all the means you can,
in all the ways you can,
in all the places you can,
at all the times you can,
to all the people you can,
as long as ever you can.”
What if we tried to live by the motto: DO all the good you can? Now, THAT would be nice.
– Steve Goodier
Find Steve Goodier here: http://stevegoodier.blogspot.com/.
Newsletter: http://LifeSupportSystem.com.
by editor | Jun 17, 2012 | Lifestyle
YOU’RE STUCK WITH ME
Even though her toddler was throwing a furious tantrum, (or, as my southern
American friends might say, pitching a fit) from the seat of a grocery
cart, one mother was unfazed. You may as well give up on the crying, she
said as calmly as if she were soothing her to bed instead of leading her
out of the store. It won’t work. You’re stuck with me for 18 years.
That little child may not know how lucky she is to be stuck with her for 18
years. Even when she’s cranky, out of sorts or otherwise going through a
phase, her mother will be there. She’s stuck with her. Most relationships
that truly matter are built on that kind of sticking-power. And not
everyone has someone they can always count on to stick around.
A university instructor posed a riddle to her graduate education class.
What has four legs and leaves she asked, hoping the students would
realize that by considering alternative meanings to the words legs and
?leaves? that they could arrive at the solution a table. However, one
woman unexpectedly answered, My last two boyfriends. Maybe you can relate.
People will leave relationships for any number of reasons. And sometimes we
should put certain relationships behind. Not every friendship or romance
has a healthy future. Sometimes we bring along so many destructive problems
and behaviors that a happy relationship has no chance of long-term
survival. Sometimes addictions make staying in a relationship impossible.
Sometimes leaving is necessary.
But there’s also a time to stick around. Something all relationships of
many years have in common is this: every one of them is made up of people
who have had plenty of opportunities to bolt or quit, to move out or to
move on, but they stuck around. Maybe because they knew that the people
they love are not always lovable or easy to be with, and that’s okay.
They want a relationship that matters, one that is important and lasting,
and that kind is nurtured by patience and understanding.
Author John Gray sometimes tells about a young mother who asked her
visiting brother to get her some pain pills. He forgot and, when her
husband returned home, she was upset and in pain more than a bit crazy.
He experienced her anger as a personal assault and exploded in defense.
They exchanged harsh words and he headed for the door.
His wife said, Stop, don’t leave. This is when I need you the most! I?m in
pain. I’ve had no sleep. Please listen. You are a fair-weather friend. If
I’m sweet, you’re okay; but if I’m not, out you go! And then tearfully,
and more subdued, she said, I’m in pain. I have nothing to give. Please
hold me. Don’t speak…just hold me. He held her and neither spoke, until
she thanked him for being there.
I suspect there will be plenty of other times their relationship will be
tested. And I also suspect that every time it goes through a rough patch
and survives some sort of adversity, every time they decide that being
together is important enough to stick it out and fix what’s wrong, then it
will change. Maybe not much, but a little. And in time, little by little,
that relationship, their togetherness, will become a thing of beauty; a
pearl of great value.
And definitely worth sticking around for.
– Steve Goodier
__________
Find Steve Goodier here: http://stevegoodier.blogspot.com/.
Newsletter: http://LifeSupportSystem.com.
