So Many Benefits Of Travel

Many people ponder what they should do for a vacation and I realized a lot of people don’t seem to share my views about traveling. I believe it’s very important to see the world and different cultures. It lets us open our minds to new things and we get to experience life in exiting different ways.
Traveling gives us the opportunity to disconnect from our regular life. You get to forget your problems/issues for a few weeks, it can also help you figure things out that you would not have understood without the distance traveling can give you. We all have crazy schedules, work and a family to take care of, going away alone or with some friends can give you distance and perhaps even make you realize how important these people are for you. Like the saying says: we never know what we have until we lose it.
Another great benefit is the relaxation you get to do. It’s nice to live life to its fullest and enjoy a stress free time with yourself. Going on vacation lets us recharge our “batteries” by disconnecting us from our regular life. When we come back we feel invigorated and we are happy to be back in our day to day routine. It’s a very good stress remover that has a lot more to give than most people are willing to accept.
Traveling increases our knowledge and widens our perspective. To view new customs, different ways of living is fantastic for the mind. It gives us a new perspective about life and especially our life, it can help us change some of our habits or even create new ones. When I travel I usually make it a point to try new food, some cultures don’t have fries in their diet and they are all skinny, others use spices to give taste and not oils or fats. Discovering different values and ways to get by in life is really interesting. You also need to visit exotic new places and discover what this wonderful world has to offer.

New experiences increase our resourcefulness by living situations you would never encounter at home, this is great experience for you when you come back to your routine. I have noticed that people who traveled a lot in life were ready to embrace change and have a natural ability of overcoming problems that others would frown upon.
When traveling with friends or family it creates memories for a lifetime. These memories will create a bond that nothing can erase no matter what happens with the friendship/relationship. It can also give a new perspective on the relationship and cement the bond forever. It also gives nice stories to tell people afterwards, you can create photo albums about your trips and when you feel nostalgic you can take an hour of your life and experience the trips again by looking at your pictures.
It’s never been this cheap to travel. With soaring oil prices the cheap travel era might be coming to an end. However there are still many budget airlines fighting for your dollar right now. With the internet and all the new technology, you can plan your trip exactly the way you want it. You can choose your budget, the duration of the trip and what you want to do. I suggest to read travel blogs and see what others are experiencing, you can save yourself a few hurdles by reading about their trip.
If you have some time off I suggest to take that trip and experience what life has to offer. Don’t wait or tell yourself there will be a better time to go. Take the risk, the opportunity and buy your plane ticket right now and leave. When you come back you won’t be sorry that you left, on the contrary you will be thinking of your next trip the second you come back from the airport.
Feel free to let me know how traveling helped you out, what new experiences you lived and how they helped you in your life.

5 Exercises You Must Do

What's the number one reason you don't exercise? If you said lack of time, I hear ya. Everyone is busy and we all want ways to squeeze our workouts into an already full day. Well, you'll have to look for a new reason to skip your workouts because I've found the answer. I surveyed personal trainers all over the U.S. and asked them: "If you only had five exercises for your clients, which ones would they be?"
1. Squats.
Why They Rock: Most trainers agree that squats are one of the best exercises you can do. Squats work your glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves all at once.
How to Do it: Stand with feet hip-width apart, toes facing straight ahead or angled slightly outward. Slowly bend the knees and lower hips towards the floor, keeping your torso straight and abs pulled in tight. Keep your knees behind your toes; make sure everything's pointing in the same direction. Do not go lower than 90 degrees. Do this move 2-3 non-consecutive days a week for 12-16 reps.
2. Push Ups.
Why They Rock: Push ups, like squats, are compound movements using almost all the muscles of your body. You'll work your chest, shoulders, triceps, back and abs.
How to Do It: Position yourself face down on the floor, balancing on your toes/knees and hands. Your hands should be wider than shoulders, body in a straight line from head to toe. Don't sag in the middle and don't stick your butt up in the air. Slowly bend your arms and lower your body to the floor, stopping when your elbows are at 90 degrees. Exhale and push back up. Variations include incline, decline, wall pushups or, for masochists, one-armed pushups. Do this move 2-3 non-consecutive days a week and add a rep each time you do the exercise.
3. Lunges.
Why They Rock: Like squats, lunges work most of the muscles in your legs including your quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves.
How to Do It: Stand in a split-stance (one leg forward, one leg back). Bend knees and lower body into a lungeposition, keeping the front knee and back knee at 90 degree angles. Keeping the weight in your heels, push back up (slowly!) to starting position. Never lock your knees at the top and don't let your knee bend past your toes. Variations: front lunges, back lunges and side lunges. Do this exercise 2-3 times per week for 12 to 16 reps.
4. The Plank.
Why It Rocks: The plank (or hover) is an isolation move used in Pilates and Yoga and works the abs, back, arms and legs. The plank also targets your internal abdominal muscles.
How to Do It: Lie face down on mat with elbows resting on floor next to chest. Push your body off the floor in a pushup position with body resting on elbows or hands. Contract the abs and keep the body in a straight line from head to toes. Hold for 30-60 seconds and repeat as many times as you can. For beginners, do this move on your knees and gradually work your way up to balancing on your toes.
5. Lat Pulldown
Why It Rocks: The lat pulldown works on the major muscles of your back (the latissmus dorsi), which helps you burn calories and, of course, strengthen your back.
How to Do It: Sit on the lat pulldown machine and hold the bar with palms out and wider than shoulders. Pull your abs in and lean back slightly. Bend your elbows and pull the bar down towards your chin, contracting the outer muscles of your back. Do this exercise 2-3 times a week using enough weight to complete 12-16 repetitions.

If One Day You Want To Go To Malawi?

Lake Malawi (Lake Nyasa) is one of the main reasons that the country enjoys such a high level of tourism. This vast lake lies in the Great Rift Valley area, north of Cape Maclear and Monkey Bay, and is Africa's third-largest lake. Now a national park, Lake Malawi contains some of the most colorful tropical freshwater fish that you are ever likely to encounter, and many visitors choose to take a closer look at this unique underwater world by joining a scuba diving expedition or by simply snorkelling in the prime areas. If you are just here for the setting, then you will find that the sandy beaches surrounding areas of the lake are the perfect place to relax and soak up the strong African sunshine. More information about Lake Malawi.
Tourists planning a sightseeing holiday in Malawi should be prepared to travel. The Lilongwe Nature Reserve and Zoo is a good place for all the family, with its African creatures and host of exotic birds. When you are visiting Lilongwe, do try to leave enough time to experience the city's famous Tobacco Auction, where a public gallery allows you to watch the eventful goings-on. On the southern side of Malawi, the Thyolo Tea Estates date back to the early 20th century and visitors can watch the workers in action, picking the tea leaves from the seemingly endless lines of neatly clipped bushes. Located on the northern side of the country, enjoying an elevated setting between the Nyika Plateau and Lake Malawi, the Livingstonia Mission is steeped in history and was founded in the 1890s by Scottish missionaries. More information about Malawi Tourist Attractions.
Many of the most obvious sights in Malawi are within reasonable reach of Lilongwe, being a mixture of man-made structures and natural phenomena. Look out for the Cathedral of Bembeke, St. Michael's and All Angels Church in Blantyre, and the Chongoni Rock Art within the Dedza District, which now ranks as a World Heritage Site and boasts some impressive rock paintings, the most ancient of which are some 3,500 years old. Tourists frequently head to Nkhata Bay, on the western central shoreline of Lake Malawi, where some beautiful Caribbean-style golden sandy beaches and resorts await, along with noteworthy dive sites. Wildlife is in good supply all around the very distinctive Zomba Plateau, which makes for the perfect day trip destination, and those keen on outdoor recreation should spend some time hiking along the trails of Mount Mulanje. More information about Malawi Landmarks and Monuments.
The selection of museums in Malawi is fairly modest, considering the sheer size of the country, and the best choice of these cultural offerings is to be found within the city of Blantyre. It is here where the Museum of Malawi (Chichiri) resides, with its large exhibition hall, geological displays, weaponry collection, slavery tales and information about local traditions. Also in Blantyre is the extremely historic Mandela House, where a highly regarded art gallery sells genuine African paintings and wooden carvings. At Mtakataka's Kungoni Centre of Culture and Art, the Chamare Museum and Research Centre has many photographs and artefacts relating to the ethic people of Chewa, Ngoni and Yao. A special highlight at the town of Mangochi is the Lake Malawi Museum, where you can learn how this expanse of water has become integral to the plethora of villages surrounding its shore, while for families in Karonga, the Cultural and Museum Centre will be a real treat, with its dinosaur fossils and archaeological gems. More information aboutMalawi Museums and Art Galleries.
Wherever you are staying in Malawi, it is quite likely that you will require a fair trek each day to reach your chosen destination. To make the very most of your holiday, be sure to allow plenty of time to properly explore - at a sensible time of the year, weather-wise. Tourists looking for that ultimate African experience may also like to travel to one or more of the surrounding countries - Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia, where game reserves, national parks, lakes, waterfalls, fortresses and enchanting towns are just some of the main points of interest. More information about Malawi Attractions Nearby.

Can Dads' Smoking Impact On The Child's Health?

Children whose fathers smoked have at least a 15 percent higher risk of developing the most common form of childhood cancer, a new Australian study finds.

"Paternal smoking seems to be real" as a risk factor, said Patricia Buffler, a professor at theUniversity of California, Berkeley, who was not involved in the current analysis.

dad-and-the-boys

"The importance of tobacco exposure and children's cancers has been overlooked until recently," Buffler told Reuters Health. "So I think this paper is important" in adding to the growing body of evidence.

The research team, led by Dr. Elizabeth Milne at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Australia, surveyed the families of nearly 400 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Although ALL is the most common childhood cancer, it is still rare, affecting about three to five children out of every 100,000, according to the National Cancer Institute. More than 1,000 kids die of the disease every year.

The survey asked about the smoking habits of both parents.

Milne and her colleagues compared these families to the families of more than 800 children of similar ages who did not have leukemia.

They found that the mothers' smoking behavior had no impact on the kids' risk of developing thecancer.

But kids whose fathers smoked at all around the time of their conception were 15 percent more likely to develop leukemia. Those whose dads smoked at least 20 cigarettes per day around that time were 44 percent more likely to be diagnosed with the cancer.

A 15 percent increase in the risk of ALL would increase the number of cases from six out of every 200,000 children to seven out of every 200,000.

Of the nine earlier reports that the researchers used in their comparison with the current study, six of them also found an increased risk.

The findings make sense, Buffler said. "Tobacco smoke is full of toxins," including carcinogens, she said, "so it's not unlikely that you'd have damage" in the cells that produce sperm.

"Sperm containing DNA (damage) can still reach and fertilize an ovum, which may lead to disease in the offspring," Milne wrote in an email to Reuters Health.

The study did not prove that DNA damage in the sperm caused by smoking is responsible for the children's increased risk of cancer.

"The causes of ALL are likely to be multifactorial, and our findings relate to just one of the possible contributing factors," said Milne.

She added that her results are not intended to be used to place blame or make parents feel guilty.

Several other environmental factors are also tied to a greater chance of developing childhood leukemia, including ionizing radiation such as x-rays and the mother's exposure to paint or pesticides while pregnant.

Milne said that many of the studies regarding these potential causes have been small, and not conclusive.

Buffler is leading an international consortium of researchers tracking thousands of cases of childhood leukemia to determine the influence of environmental, genetic and other biological factors on developing the disease.

How Do Housework Quickly ?

Since the 1950s, the mainstream of thinking has not shifted significantly from women being responsible for housework. One reason for this lack of change can be attributed to male stereotypes in the media. It is not masculine to clean; have you ever seen the Terminator washing dishes or James Bond clean floors? In the movies; masculine men blow things up, drive fast cars, use the latest gadgets and have women fawning all over them. These images run through your man's head, when he's asked to throw out the trash. It's true real men are capable of doing housework, but in the real world they chose not to. Let's look at some of the reasons why?

I think we probably all daydream at one point or another about how nice it would be to be able to afford to get someone else to do it for us. Or we try bribing our children into helping out a little (and using the 'you made it you clean it' tactic usually only works the first couple of times.) I've come to the conclusion that while I may never be able to afford to get someone to do it for me, I can at least start saving some money and time when it comes to the products I need to help me clean. When you don't know what you're going to make for dinner ahead of time, you may end up with too much to do-including running to the grocery store-at the last minute. And there's no worse place to be at 5:30 p.m. than standing in line at a grocery store with three whiny children because you put the spaghetti on only to find you have no sauce. So try to plan your meals for a week. If you like, you can gather your family together and let them each choose one meal. This often increases the chance they'll eat it, too!

Make a list of how often you want tasks to be done. Ideally, this can be done with your family, and you can ask them to help. But for those tasks which you've allocated to yourself, decide which ones need to be done daily, which ones weekly, which ones every other week, and which ones monthly. Then make a monthly schedule where you can check off the things as you do them. You can download my own charts for that through the link at the bottom of this article! You'll find several advantages to this system. First, everything that needs to get done will get done. Your house will be well maintained, so your things will last longer. But you may actually end up doing less work. If you do housework according to a schedule, you know that everything will get done in its time. Once you've finished today's tasks, there's nothing else to do. You can stop without feeling guilty about relaxing or spending time on something else.

Do You Want To Learn To Play Golf ?

If you want to learn how to play golf the right way, the way the pros do then you need to start thinking along the lines of golf school. Practicing is not gong to make you a great golfer all it is gong to do is ingrain all of the bad habits that you have already picked up. Going to golf school on the other hand is gong to teach you everything that you need to know in order to master the game of golf. Golf is a game of skill and a game of patience and if you want to be able to beat everyone who steps out onto those links then you need to go to golf school and learn from the best. Expansive beaches on the Atlantic add to the beach appeal, and other activities such as relaxing spa resorts, restaurants, and family fun, and of course, golf. Golf courses on Hilton Head are some of the most famous in the country with their beautiful scenery and often-legendary design.

A really popular type offered at many Hilton Head courses is the pro lesson. These are for avid and very experienced golfers who want to brush up on their personal skills. These are often taught by PGA veterans or retired semi-professional golfers. These pros are some of the best teachers in the country and they are ready and willing to teach golfers of all skill levels a little bit about what they know. Check with your desired club or course for a listing of their in-house pros. And most importantly you will learn the right way. At golf school you will still have a professional there to show you just what you are doing wrong and to help you learn how to correct it. These courses make Hilton Head Island the perfect destination for any golfer, but what about travel companions who aren't so into golf, or don't know how to play? Or maybe you are interested in playing golf but you haven't had the opportunity to learn how? Golf lessons are a simple and easy solution to get everyone involved, or to improve your own personal skill with the joy that golf courses on Hilton Head have to offer.

In most cases you will attend the golf school in the morning and then be given some time out on the links later in the day. This gives you some time to absorb what you have learned and then put it into practice. This is the most effective way to learn and that is what golf school is all about: teaching you the right way to play golf once and for all. Teaching an activity that the entire family can do is something that many teachers and pros on the island enjoy doing. From young children to teenagers as well as moms and dads, anyone can join in on group lessons that will give any travel party a little fun in the sun and a break from the beach. Learning to play golf on Hilton Head will teach any skill level of player how to play the right way It give him or her a great foundation to continue playing at courses around the world. Golf can be one of the hardest sports in the world, and when you are just beginning, it can feel like you are hitting a brick wall and getting nowhere every time you attempt to learn or play.

Breakfast Gives You The Fuel As The Important Meal

There is an old saying that you should eat like a King for breakfast, a Queen for lunch and a knave for tea. But what did YOU have for breakfast this morning? According to some recent Finnish research there's an increasing chance that the answer would be "nothing". It's not a good idea as skipping breakfast is linked to poor health. Whereas the world is going gaga over the novel ways to lose weight, there remain some uncannily common ways to solve the weight problems as well. Eating a proper breakfast is one of them. Breakfast is a rather important eating habit yet numerous people tend to miss out on it. Regardless of how busy you are; having a proper breakfast is the key to any effective weight loss plan. The idea is not as unbelievable as it sounds. It is based on the body metabolism. As you sleep at night, the energy demand of your body goes down and so does its metabolism. All the calories that you have consumed in the day or whatever is left of it goes in storage. However your metabolism might not get up with you in the morning.

Further on when you eat your breakfast you are less certain to binge. You'll glaringly feel hungry when you do not eat your breakfast. The result- you shall retort to unhealthy nibbling and keep on eating something or the other. As a consequence, you would end up eating more than you normally should. Having a decent breakfast is a sure fire way to get your body energised and it is literally breaking the fast of the previous eight hours or so. When your body wakes up it is naturally ready for food. So, why not give it some? If you have got into the habit of skipping breakfast then you will know by now that by around mid morning, your energy levels start to drop and sometimes, a quick fix is to have an unhealthy snack, such as a chocolate bar to keep you going. If this sounds like you then it's time to rethink your whole morning routine. Even better, have porridge or some other form of oats (granola for example) for breakfast. But if you can't have oats, then it's fairly clear to me, (and the following probably is in there because I'm not so sure about fried bread and the 'great' British fry up in the morning), any breakfast is probably better than none.

There are many reasons why people choose to skip breakfast, some think by skipping breakfast it will help to lose weight, others just feel they don’t have time for breakfast. However, these are part of an incorrect thinking because breakfast is in fact the most important meal of the day. By eating a healthy, nutritious breakfast you can maintain a healthy weight while refueling your mind and body for the rest of your day. When you awake in the morning your body requires refueling, breakfast gives you this fuel as the first meal of your day. If you skip this meal your body continues to fast using stored glycogen from your muscles to maintain your ability to function. However, your body remains starving, so it will reduce metabolism, which slows down energy and the ability to focus, concentrate and react. Because your body is running on low fuel, every bodily function slows down causing a feeling of tiredness. By the time lunch roles around you are more susceptible to eating fast food or even overeating. You end up eating more than you would have if you have eaten breakfast in the first place.

The Fun Of Grocery Shopping

Did you ever fill your trunk and have to pack some of the shopping bags in your back seat? I normally go shopping once a month and when I do I pick up everything I can think of and just to add one comment, I hate shopping. I fill my trunk easily and fill my back seat most of the time. I get paper and plastic and have reusable bags too. When it comes time to drive you can hear the bags shifting as I make turns or hit bumps in the road. When I ride over railroad tracks if there is milk on my back seat it usually ends up on the floor. It is not that I am wreck less. I just do not treat the groceries as if they are passengers in the car. I have never broken an egg or jar and have not busted open a banana or orange. here are a lot of simple things you can do to reduce the amount of cash you hand over at the supermarket check out. The real reason people find it hard cut down is they are eating a lot of packaged, processed and branded foods which carry a premium.

The designers of supermarket layouts are smart people too. They know exactly how to funnel you into certain areas of the shop and where to put the most expensive purchases so they will get maximum exposure. Food is not covered if you are in an accident. In fact, if you check out auto insurance premiums on the internet the only thing that you see covered under the benefits are people and possibly animals. Some of the companies are starting to cover the animals. There is nothing about food, items bought at a store or antiques. These are things you take your chance on if you are in an accident and it is your fault. This is how I found out about the animals. If they just added animals you never know what they are going to add next. This is one reason I periodically check the internet online auto insurance rates. Maybe one day they will cover food.

If you have successfully made a list you will know exactly how much you need to spend. Only take that amount of money with you and you won't be able to overspend even if you want to. It's truly how to save money on grocery shopping. Grocery store samples are small on purpose. The store wants you to taste the product, like it, and buy it. But the people who are giving out samples may not know much about the item. Since I'm allergic to soy protein (actually all beans) I always ask if it is on the contents list. Manufactures may cut back on fat and increase sugar to make products taste better. According to the Women Workout Routines website, tells consumers to avoid diet products. "Stick to raw, whole, fresh foods and cook yourself," and don't be fooled by "proven" diet products. It's because the prices of daily grocery items have gone sky high owing to the deteriorating global economy and finding the right bargains that would suit one's budget preferences well has become quite difficult. Still, without the necessary items of daily use like bakery products, dairy products and other day to day accessories, it's not possible to run a home especially with kids.

Life With Pets

Everyone has photos of their pets afterall they become part of the family to the point of taking on the role of a child. My dog Sunshine is a very friendly and easy going young Golden Retriever who likes to be friends with everyone. Everyone, except one - his pet enemy. Sarah are professional with a sympathetic and caring approach to you and your pet's needs. Blackheath's veterinary team will always take the care to ensure you fully understand your pet's treatment and illness so that you can both do everything you can to aid your pets recovery. The surgery offers hospitalisation for if your pet has been in surgery or is severely however they believe that pets recover better in their own homes and so if your pet is in no immediate danger then you will be allowed to take your pet home with you to care for it. The surgery has many different services including high quality x-rays, ultrasound scans, electrocardiography and they can also carry out dentistry on your pet.

If you are unable to make a visit to the surgery you can arrange to have a home visit between 12 and 3pm Monday to Friday however due to only having one vet and home visits needing to be fitted around the scheduled surgeries and appointments. However due to the limited amount of equipment that can be taken on home visits, it may be better to take your pet to the surgery so that all equipment is on hand making it easier for Alan to tend to your pets needs. His pet enemy is a Black Labrador who lives down the road from us. He is about the same age as Sunshine and when they first met things didn't look too bad. Meeting in the forest was fun for everyone including the two boys. They would play and get along well. Then, one day we met again in the forest where his owner and I decided to give them another try at being friends. So we let them off the lead. They started sniffing at each other's behind as dogs do. Sighing with relief we humans thought the ice had broken - nothing could have been further from the truth!

Today as I was sitting in the front room with the window open Sunshine came in, put his head up at the window and started growling. Not long after I heard Anton and his master walking by. Sunshine had managed to recognize his enemy's smell even so he himself had been lying in another room! Luckily the owners of the black Labrador take the animosity of the two dogs lightheartedly as I do as well. And of course, luckily both dogs are easily handled thanks to their limited weight and overall will to please as well as obedience. They know that a pet is part of the family and so you wish to fully understand about their condition and any treatment they may have to take and so they will take the time to ensure that you do understand and not just give you an explanation of veterinary terms which mean nothing to the average person, your pet is not just a member of your family it is a member of the Blackheath family too.