Month: December 2017

Check out your January 2018 top of the year horoscope!

ARIES

You’re about to be a character in a real life soap opera, Aries. This month pretend you’re either on the show Survivor or in a Telenovela – this strategy will prove well for you because you can’t just trust everyone right now. Do you know someone famous or more int he public eye than you? Get in good with them this month, possibly even romantically. I am not “suggesting” that you sleep your way to the top this month, just pointing out that You Can if You Want To. Romantic partners and bosses are all drawn to you this month.

TAURUS

Feel free to take a vacation after all the new year celebrations, Taurus. Have fun. People will cut you all sorts of slack the first part of this month. However, you should do the same for them. The more you give in and go with the flow when it comes to others’ wants and needs this month the more you will be glad you did. You’re planting seeds right now that will reap karmic rewards. Be careful not to expect rewards though, in other words don’t be good to others knowing that you will be rewarded for doing so. Your intentions are more important than the actual actions. You have to Actually genuinely want to be good to others and go with the flow.

GEMINI

Gemini! You’re the sign that will benefit GREATLY from New Year’s resolutions! Want to go on a diet? Now’s the time. Want to learn something or go back to school? Now’s the time. Want to build some character? Now’s the time. Want to learn transcend suffering and be happy in any and every situation? Now’s the time to get serious about spirituality. You may also start thinking practically later this month, perhaps start your taxes early or put a will or trust together, or move some investments around. You can also start paying down some debt this month if you so desire. Are you hearing a call to adventure? A strong urge to spread your wings? Don’t ignore it, actions that you take now will yield amazing effects.

CANCER

The first part of this month may not seem like life is any different from last year. Which is OK. By the 10th, however, you may be pushed into some adventure. If you’re adventurous you might enjoy this, BUT if you’ve been trying to stay in your comfort zone and avoid trouble – well, Trouble may come a-finding you! You’ll be ok though, and most likely actually come out better than before.

LEO

Get to your New Year’s resolutions, Leo. By the 10th, any bad habits you have may start taking their toll. Get it together, or begin paying the piper. Let’s say you don’t take this advice and something hits the fan, even if you have to take a vacation during the second half of the month and risk losing work or anything else worldy, consider it. By the end of the month you’ll be shining bright and all will rock. So much so, you might have to keep an eye on overconfidence next month. But for now, take care of youself and yourself will take care of you.

VIRGO

The start of the year is AWESOME for you Virgo! If you have a Sagittarius in your life, don’t let them annoy you. They’re trying to help even though you might not need any help whatsoever. Take care of those home improvement projects, by the 10th to mid month you’ll be set on the path to some feel-good times. The only thing that might drag you down mood-wise your inability to get along with others. Don’t worry about it though. Without getting to selfish with your demands and requests, know that the Universe is more than happy to reward you personally this month.

LIBRA

Find a way to strike balance between your wants and needs and the demands that others place upon you, Libra. You won’t have to worry about this the first part of the month too much, but as the month progresses the Universe will try to challenge you. Nothing you can’t handle, though. It is possible you’ll handle everything with such grace and elegance that you won’t even notice all the amazing things you’re accomplishing and balancing. By the end of the month, if you can hold on to that grace, confidence, and “wu wei” you’ll probably start being really attractive to others and drawing them to you effortlessly.

SCORPIO

Make that money, Scorps! Go for it and go at it! The financial and abundance aspect of the Universe is yours for the taking right now. The Moon’s location and strength, while it might make some crazy, just serves to back you up and help you to feel empowered. Trust your instincts and take action when you feel it’s right, and back off when you feel you should. Yes, it is that simple for you this month. In fact, if you follow this ebb and flow of action you’ll not only learn some great insights, but will propel yourself externally as well.

SAGITTARIUS

There’s an old Indian saying that goes like this, “You can’t drive a nail through a concrete wall, not only will you not make a dent in the wall but you’ll probably bend the nail.” This is referring to your relationships with others right now, Sagitarrius. We may have felt that we’ve arrived at some amazing wisdom and can clearly see solutions to problems that baffle others – but for some reason they either cannot or will not understand what we’re revealing to them. Don’t worry about it. Everyone is on their own path. Driving the nail of “your advice/your revelations” into the concrete wall of someone else’s mind is not going to work. In fact, maybe we should try the opposite – let’s listen to what they have to say about worldly concrete stuff. Might be useful. This is going to be an ongoing theme Throughout the month.

CAPRICORN

It’s definitely Capricorn season with the planets. If you’re introspective enough you’ll find meaning – if not THE meaning of of it all in general. That’s right, we’re talking about the mysteries of the whole Universe/Multiverse and all of it combined might be revealed to some of you. If you’re an extrovert, you’ll get a jump in social status after the 10th. Personally, I’d think you’d rather have the mysteries of the Universe revealed to you – but hey, being popular is pretty awesome too and you can definitely enjoy it! If you straddle introversion and extroversion, than perhaps try to balance both and get some benefits in both arenas. May not be at the depth of benefit as others, but benefit nonetheless. And don’t worry about stuff, you have the freedom to be ultra positive this month. In fact, I’d have to go as far as to say that any negative thoughts you have this month are a trick of the mind and total nonsense – ride it out, and you’ll see (maybe in hindsight, but hopefully in the moment) that all is positives for you this month.

AQUARIUS

The planets are zipping through for you this month, Aquarius. Have you heard of Forest Bathing? Try it this month, especially during mid month. Or possibly on the 10th itself. Even before and after the 10th you’ll benefit greatly from just getting out into the wilderness and nature, taking a deep breath and relaxing into feeling the existence that you are. This is also the month you might want to dive deeper into Buddhism or Vedanta or Taoism or similar. Philosophical concepts that used to baffle you might make perfect sense finally. If you do all of this, by the end of the month – perhaps during the last week of the month – all sorts of amazingness will manifest in your life.

PISCES

Get ready and train yourself, Pisces. You are going to need to learn to toughen up your emotional intelligence and your spirituality. Not just for this month, you need to train for battle with the Universe at large. Such battles are all fun and games for the Universe, but from the perspective of your tiny human/ego-based/individual self this may seem stressful. It’s not though, but train train train. That means start meditating regularly, reading academic and philosophical content, exercise, etc. Keep some black tourmaline maybe in your pocket, and try to slow down so you can view “events” in life from a calm and calculated perspective. Remember that scene in the Matrix where Keanu Reeves finally sees all the 1s and 0s for first time and effortlessly bends to dodge bullets. That’s the mindset you need to be in, from now own. Wisdom. You can do it. The 10th and right before the 25th will be helpful for you. No worries, you’ll rock it!

There’s something to be said for an all-natural cure that’s stood the test of time…apple cider vinegar

It seems that these days everyone’s on the lookout for the next product that claims to have the ability to be the long-sought out fountain of youth. More often than not this can result in the purchase of supplements whose cost could total to hundreds even thousands of dollars.

After these investments have been made and let’s face it the money is gone never to be seen again. The realization sets in that all those pills were all useless, no changes ever did occur and those that did happen only lasted for a fraction of a second.

Weight loss and good health

It’s blatantly obvious that Americans has been expanding. Another point that’s well known is the reason why so many Americans are tipping the scales, is the consumption of fast food. Saying that fast food or readymade meals loaded with salt, fat, sugar and other preservative makes it astoundingly unhealthy is no secret.

Nevertheless, due to laziness, hectic lifestyles and lack of discipline, so many people continue to fall into the trap of instant gratification in the shapes meals. Despite the fact that choosing to go with these dietary choices may be convenient when it comes to saving time. No one can ignore the lasting side effects they’ll have on the body both inside and out.

That’s when the magic pills and fat-free meal replacements come in once again the need for instant gratification becomes a priority. Which can take the form of an expensive and frustrating cycle that will most likely produce zero positive results.

Just because it’s normal doesn’t make it right

Some people in society have decided that weight loss should be categorized as a superficial goal. As a result being a little heavier than generations before has embedded itself into the self-consciousness of individuals who happen to be part of that particular group. Nevertheless, if they would be honest with themselves the real reason behind this acceptance of heaviness would come to light, which is that changing for the better is seen as far too inconvenient.

When this excessive weight starts to have a negative effect on health in the form of high cholesterol and diabetes well that changes things. But, what if the cure for bad health and annoying weight gain was right in the grocery store aisle?

To further sweeten the deal, each bottle of the ultimate cure, “apple cider vinegar” usually costs only a few dollars.

What are the benefits of apple cider vinegar?

The key attribute behind the positive biological benefits of apple cider vinegar is due to the high amount of acetic acid it contains. Thus, making it an effective tool in the reduction of bacteria due to its ability to cleanse the liver, thus acting as a potent detoxifier. Which will lead to blood sugar levels being drastically reduced.

Then, of course, there are the undeniable weight loss side effects, which occur through the abilities of the recipient to feel fuller, faster and longer. Through the reduction of calories which are consumed.

How much of a dose should someone take to truly feel the benefits?

Each dose of apple cider vinegar isn’t accompanied by complicated timetable and regiments. On the contrary, all that’s needed is a tablespoon sized serving deluded in a glass of water to be taken before every meal. Ideally, that would occur three times a day.

Now doesn’t that seem a lot more reasonable that ingesting supplements loaded with ingredients that are impossible to pronounce?

Is this a trend that’s bound to drown out any alternatives?

Probably not right away given that the harmful methods are quite convincing when it comes to promising quick effortless results. Sadly, it will probably take the emergence of more prominent negative reactions before a complete change will occur. Only then will a market shift take place which will put natural products on the top of every consumer’s list.

Stop and think

Before purchasing the next product which claims to bring both health and beauty. Natural is always better anything else will end up doing more harm than good. So, don’t fall for boxes covered in outlandish claims of fast success, but stick to the long-term gratifying benefits of apple cider vinegar.

Mary Thompson

This isn’t going to be a lecture on substituting kale for turkey

One of the biggest reasons most people fail diets is for the simple reason that the terms are unrealistic. This type of result is only heightened when undertaken during the holiday season which as everyone knows can translate into sweet, salty, fatty and alcohol saturated smorgasbords.

That second piece of pie may only seem like a good idea at the time

No one really knows the exact moment when healthy eating goes out the window and for some reason, overeating seems to be perfectly acceptable. Whether it’s the first piece of Halloween candy nobody really knows. One thing for sure this feeding frenzy begins seems to go on through the early parts of January.

Before embarking on these endless hours of stuffing most people tend to make the excuse that it can’t be so bad since it’s only an annual occasion. After all of the holidays come to an end the need to indulge with eventually die out.

However, the fact that isn’t so easily covered up are the aftereffects of what could best be described as “pigging out.” As the first dinner party or get together comes to a close any physical remnants of the feasting may be far from visible. But, the same certainly can’t be said after this sort of activity repeats itself week after week.

Is there any way to have cake and eat it too?

Absolutely, the key to keeping your waistline in check is pretty much the rule of thumb for any type of meal whether the dishes are healthy or decadent. The secret to staying fit is none other than portion control. Nevertheless, the way this type of portion size is kept in check should be handled as a very delicate matter. After all, who wants to be reminded to hold back when the very point of these meals is having the ability to let go.

Small portions can leave anyone cheated out of a good meal

So why not remedy the problem by serving meals in generous restaurant style sizes? Now, before drawing conclusions on the consequences of generous sizes there is a catch to this technique. Seconds are completely off the table literally.

Thus, if anyone wants a second helping will have to make some sort of effort, since the rest of the food would be stored in the kitchen and not around the dining table.

Believe it or not, potlucks could keep waistlines at bay

One of the leading causes of weight gain is unnecessary calories brought upon by excessive quantities of sugar, salt, fat and preservatives. However, potlucks give guests the ability to dodge the bullet when it comes to regretting the feast the next morning. It’s hardly a difficult task since they can control the ingredients which on into the dishes.

After all isn’t it easier to eat your fill when these indulgences contain little to no mystery ingredients?

No, your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you the plates are full

When it comes to any get together which involves food, no one wants to feel shortchanged which can sometimes occur when they feel tied down to a certain calorie limit. So why not trick guests into eating less while making them think they’ve consumed so much more.

No, I’m not talking about a way to feng shui on a plate, on the contrary, there isn’t any intricate rearranging involved. All that’s needed to achieve this clever illusion is serving food on small plates.

It’s pretty straightforward actually bigger plates with less food are perceived by the brain to mean that the body needs a lot more to feel full. So, the simple solution to this debacle is filling a smaller salad plate, as opposed to choosing to go with a much larger dinner plate.

Phew! We got through those suggestions without the need to bring up diets or the latest superfood

There’s no faster ways to throw a wet blanket over your next holiday get together than showcasing the “good for you” food. So, why not give these suggestions a try. Your loved ones may not realize the difference right away, but they’ll surely notice a positive change in there weigh scales and waistlines.

Mary Thompson

There’s got to be an easier way right?

WHAT ABOUT A FREE OVER-THE-AIR ANTENNA?
SEE: ReLeaf – New Mohu Leaf Antenna Unboxing (Free TV without having to pay)

With the rising costs of cable television, any way to cut the cord and not have to pay an arm and leg seems to be the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for so many consumers. Internet-based television options as well as satellite services have recognized this consumer demand and have answered it. However, despite their best efforts to create cheaper price tags and bills that won’t make your heart stop. Upon conducting trial runs and examining system requirements needed to have these alternative solutions running smoothly could add up to cost around the same price or more than cable.

Cable promotional prices are temporary. The proof is in the name.
One of the biggest pitfalls of acquiring cable services is that after the promotional pricing, period has come to an end. Bills which at times come up to a little more than $100, could escalate to grand totals of around $50 or more. A lot depends on the length of cable wire, which would have to be utilized to carry out the service to the consumers.

$20 a month or less of TV sounds good, but what about the costs to get things going? I guess someone forgot to mention that…

The natural response to seeing an astronomical bill would be to cut off the service and go along with alternatives such as Sling TV or Hulu. Which is fine since no one wants to pay a bundle for cable. But, before doing anything hasty, let’s stop and consider all the ramifications to this major decision.

WHAT ABOUT A FREE OVER-THE-AIR ANTENNA?
ReLeaf – New Mohu Leaf Antenna Unboxing (Free TV without having to pay)

These cheaper alternatives require one major element to be functional, a reliable fast connection to the Internet. Why you may ask? Well for the simple reason that all programs will be viewable through streaming. Not having a fast Internet connection could result in lengthy buffering times. Which would turn television / movie viewing into a stressful activity and not a relaxing one.

Upon first glance, one would think that just getting Internet service would be cheaper than bundling it with cable and a land line. The sad reality is farthest from the truth. In most cases just Internet service could end up costing more. This is a clever marketing technique cable providers use to rope consumers into signing up for the Internet, cable and a land line. Which is good for business, but bad for customers who are trying to reduce their bill and find a way out. The harsh reality of the situation can more likely resemble a double-edged sword than anything else.

There is the satellite…
The second option which would help avoid paying for the high-speed Internet essential for streaming channels is none other than the satellite TV solution. Nevertheless, an element that could definitely create technical difficulties is one of the most natural hindrances we have to deal with on a daily basis. This is none other than the weather. Sadly, tumultuous weather which is at risk of happening practically year-round can put a damper into your viewing pleasure.

All types of viewers aren’t created equal.
It seems as if the only reliable solution for television not prone to constant interruptions is a cable provider. But, don’t fret it isn’t all that bad. There ways to avoid the feeling of dread as you slowly pry open the bill from hell. The steps that can be taken to decrease or get rid of the cable company all together will depend on each families viewing habits.

Keep the channels you watch and get rid of those you don’t.
There are hundreds of channels to choose from, but chances are you probably don’t watch every single one of them. Bingo! There’s your first money saver. Most cable providers will offer different channel packages. The more varieties you have the steeper your bill will be. So cut those down and watch the savings at up.
Are you more of a TV or movie viewer?

If this is your style, then you’re in luck the savings will really add up. Unlike Sling TV or Hulu, Netflix doesn’t require the most expensive Internet connection in the bunch to turn out smooth service. With their selections for everyone in the family, changing all the time hit movies and television shows are added periodically. There’s bound to be something for everyone. Making the switch could cut the home entertainment budget done by as much as $100 reduction in price per month.

A satellite dish may just be what the doctor ordered.
So what if decreasing the channel line-up isn’t an option. Sports channels, news networks and all the latest kids programs are must haves, ok that’s doable. If that’s the case going through the satellite disk route may be the best path. Disconnections will occur during bad weather, but that is fixable, and it’s hard to escape the bright light in all this that most channel line-up packages may only cost as much as $19 per month. Your home entertainment bill will get such a makeover it’ll be unrecognizable.

One shoe doesn’t fit all.
Before making the cut consider the options. Different families have distinctive needs. Whether we like to admit it or not much of family life revolves around home entertainment. What might be right for one isn’t going to suit the other. So take into account all the options and make a choice. Your cable bill may leave you pleasantly surprised.