Special Speech

Many moons ago, while in college, I had a summer job at a service station working the night shift. That meant hours running from 11 PM to 8 AM. While for many this might seem like cruel and unusual punishment, I loved it. One big reason, other than the relatively reduced traffic in the middle of the night (i.e., workload) and the coolness of most evenings when compared to those hotter-than-Hades afternoon shifts, was a traditional, if unofficial benefit built into every shift: those on duty used to take turns stealing away for one nap each and every shift.

That unusual feature/benefit was much loved by myself and my co-workers. We would climb a short ladder to a cramped supply loft when it came our turn, settle in with a cushion, turn out an overhead light, then drop away to snooze-land. This arrangement all worked well the entire summer until one night I found myself jerked awake by a co-worker flipping the light switch on and off to get me up, while yelling, “Get up, get up! We wuz just robbed!” Huh, say what? 911 in progress and I had slept through the whole thing. But hey, that story’s for another day!

This column is about the nap itself. It seems such once furtive, dead-of-night-only employee activity has begun emerging from the closet (or the loft, in my case!). Thanks to the criticality of staying competitive and keeping productivity sky-high, many employers now actually allow and encourage naps, in broad daylight even, building them into employee benefit packages.

No small factor for the cause of this revolution are the reports of many researchers that American workers now work longer hours than ever and yet are sleeping less at night. Something’s got to give somewhere, there are after all only so many hours in a 24×7 week, so, to get things done both at home and on the job, workers are cutting back on sleep, leaving them vulnerable to the drowsies during the day.

This obviously means they will often not be in tiptop shape while performing for the boss. As the original President George Bush might have put it, this is “bad, bad.”

To view the wide picture, takes a scan at the results of a study done by the National Sleep Foundation:

• 51% of American workers say sleepiness on the job interferes with the amount of work they get done

• 40% admit the quality of their work suffers as they find themselves about ready to nod off

• 68% feel sleepiness during the day may be interfering with their concentration

• 25 % say they’ve great difficulty getting up for work two or more workdays per week

As a result, there’s a movement afoot (naturally) to allow more snoozing on the job. Dr. William Anthony, author of “The Art of Napping at Work,” explains, “The main advantages that stick out for the worker and employer are that napping enhances productivity and mood, and that you are able to concentrate better, do tasks longer, and listen to people better as well as feel more satisfied about work.” Translation: a catnap a day keeps the competition away.

Does your employer currently allow you to nap on the job? 16% of employees in the survey say their employer does. How can you get yours to do the same?

After you’ve asked, cajoled, lobbied, begged, there may be one last way: Some afternoon after lunch, just change into your jammies, fluff a pillow up behind your head, take off your shoes and stretch out those dogs right up and over your keyboard. When your boss walks by, he’ll get the hint… ah, that is, unless he gives you the boot instead!

Ken Lizotte CMC is Chief Imaginative Officer (CIO) of emerson consulting group inc. (Concord, MA), which transforms consultants, law firms, executives and companies into “thoughtleaders.” This article is an excerpt from his newest book “Beyond Reason: Questioning Assumptions of Everyday Life”.

Visit ==>www.thoughtleading.com for more info.

Many of us want to visit Italy but when start to add the costs it turns out to be little on the pricy side. However, with careful planning, a vacation in Italy doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Flights to Europe can be quite inexpensive if purchased at the right time. Many airlines - and especially low-cost ones - advertise low fare plane tickets in the hope of getting more clients in this time of crisis. It is easy to find flights into major Italian cities such as Rome, Turin or Naples whether you plan to go for a holiday, a vacation, or on business. On the other hand, websites advertising such flights can be misleading so the traveler needs to be on alert while planning their trip. A fare may seem low until taxes and fees are added to its cost. Reading the Italy travel guide will help you avoid these problems. You will soon learn that searching for flights form different companies can make a difference financially. In most cases, the best time to purchase a ticket to Italy is in advance. But if you like to travel on the spur of the moment you can also benefit from the last minute deals available all over the internet. Same is valid for the accommodation. Ideally you should book your hotel ahead of time and after checking several possibilities. Then, once in Italy, you need to know how to travel in an expensive country on a low budget. Try to do a lot of cheap or free activities. Pack a picnic basket and head to the beach or in the park. Find out when the museums can be visited for free and plan your museum trips in that day. Stroll the cities streets at night.

What can you say to a parent who loses a child to cancer? Whatever words we offer are inadequate to lessen their sorrow. We have no answers to questions like, “Why this child?” or “Why now?” and “What do I do now?”

Another question we all ask and cannot answer is, “Where was God and what was He thinking when this horrible thing happened? ” For answers, I look to God’s written word. It gives me a glimpse into His personality and thoughts.

If God were to telephone and speak to you during times of suffering, perhaps these are some things He might say:

“I know how you feel.” God understands the loss of a child because He experienced it. He said to Jesus, “You are my son whom I love.” (Mark 1:11) He watched men torture his beloved son. He felt the grief of seeing the people He’d created rebell against Him. “His spirit was grieved.” (Isaiah 63:10) The Bible says Jesus was “a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering . . . He carried our sorrows.” (Isaiah 53:3) Crucifixion was the most barbaric form of death known to man. It was a cruel, drawn out process. Nails were driven into wrists and ankles. The body was suspended in an abnormal position that crushed the lungs and heart. The pain was excruciating. For this torture, Jesus left the glory of heaven. He left the companionship of angels and the fellowship of His Father for this brutal treatment. He understands suffering like no other can.

In the midst of your struggles, God would say, “I love you.” “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” (Jeremiah 31:3) He demonstrated His great love with the ultimate sacrifice. “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son.” (John 3:16)

He would say, “You’re not alone. I am with you..” Deuteronomy 31:6 tells us, “The Lord your God goes with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you.” Isaiah 43:2 reads, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.” And Jesus said in Matthew 28:20, “I am with you always.”

He would say, “I want to bless you.” “He did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all. Will He not also graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) Anyone who would give so great a gift at such a great cost must certainly have only our best interest at heart.

God would assure you that, “Nothing bad in this world can separate us.” “Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor demons . . . nor anything else in all creation can separate us from the love of God.” (Romans 8:35-39)

God would tell you, “Pain is part of life.” “In this world, you will have trouble.” (John 16:33a)

But He would also say, “Take heart.” The next part of that verse says, “But be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.”

He would tell you, “Lean on me.” “Come to me you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

He would say, “Trust me.” “My peace I give to you . . . Do not be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:28)

He would promise, “I can make you strong.” “My strength is made perfect in (your) weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

He would say, “I can bring good, even from tragedy..” “In all things, God works for the good of those who love Him.” (Romans 8:28)

He would say, “Ultimately, nothing - not even death - can hurt you, if you belong to me; because, through my son, you have the hope of eternal life.” “Death where is your victory . . . Where is your sting? Death has been swallowed up in victory.” (1 Corinthians 15:55)

Even with the King of Kings leading us through life, it will be difficult; but we can endure, and even overcome, any struggle. He can strengthen us with the knowledge that no matter what happens in this lifetime, nothing here can steal our hope of the eternal treasure He wants to give us. He’s created an everlasting kingdom where pain, suffering, tears and death will no longer exist; and He offers that home to all who will come.

Life may be filled with sorrow, but it won’t be as hopeless with Jesus as it would be without Him.

When we’re suffering, only God can provide the perfect peace for which our hearts long. God’s love carries us through anything and overcomes any situation, burden, or grief — no matter how great.

The heart of Christianity revolves around a tragic and unjust death. The best man who ever lived — an innocent man — had to suffer, so how can we expect lives free from pain and sorrow? Yet, God brought life and good out of the tragedy of Jesus’ death. He can do the same with our suffering too, if through that suffering we grow closer to Him.

Author Marsha Jordan is founder of a nonprofit charity called Hugs and Hope for Sick Children (http://www.hugsandhope.org). More of her articles on depression are in her book, Hugs, Hope, and Peanut Butter, a compilation of essays illustrated with drawings by critically ill children.
In this book, the author combines hope with humor, drawing upon her own experience of living with chronic pain and depression. She opens her life and her heart to share everyday experiences and the lessons God has taught her from them. Her thought-provoking essays are illustrated with drawings created by children battling cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.
Anyone who has ever been discouraged or faced tough times will be encouraged by essays about everything from husbands, wild bears, and a day in the emergency room, to aging, in-laws, and living with chronic illness.

Other essays in the book include, “More Than I Can Handle,” “Ten Tips For Beating Depression,” “Why Doesn’t God Answer My Prayer?” and “What Did I Do To Deserve This?” Learn more at http://www.hugsandhope.org/book.htm

Importance of SEO(Search engine Optimization)

Doing search engine submission and just having a site isn’t enough -you have to get customers to find you. To do that, your web site has to use certain techniques and technologies that make search engines rank your site high on their results list when your customers do a search for your kind of business. That’s ” search engine optimization “

Steps involved in SEO There are 4 steps to be followed to get a good Google page rank and search engine ranking.

Step 1: Website modification

This step includes adding optimized content to all pages in the website. This is necessary because targeted keywords have to be added in the right density at the right places.

Step 2: Add tags

Add or make changes to Meta tags, Title tags, H1 tags, H2 tags, all in anchor text, and alt tags for images, after keywords research. Studying the previous month’s keyword usage statistics provided by the major search engines does keyword research based on which the good keywords are decided

Step 3: Link building A, Inbound links: Make the website available in about 300 directories and 90 search engines and trade forums to build up on number of incoming links to the website. All submissions are done manually including major search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN. Multiple or repeated submissions are not necessary as most directories and search engines keep updating themselves using their robots or spiders.

B, Reciprocal links (Optional 5 USD per link) Create a links page and make link exchanges with relevant websites. Find out all competitor websites with good ranking and analyze where they have placed their links. Then make sure our link is also placed there. Gradual build up of relevant and quality reciprocal links Regular verification of reciprocal links Step 4: Maintenance Report on improvement in ranking on a regular basis Re-optimization and resubmission based on client feedback Website statistics monitoring and conversion tracking

By following the above-mentioned simple SEO steps it is possible to achieve good search engine positioning.

John was a highly intelligent young boy. With higher than average intelligence, he was also emotionally sensitive. He was obviously a handful for his parents because they did not know how to deal with him. His father was strict with him. His mother was too busy to pay much attention to him because he had five other siblings. He felt not heard or appreciated. When he was in his early twenties he became elated. He was admitted into the hospital where he was diagnosed as having a psychiatric condition that he and his family was told, was untreatable. Today many years later, he has sometimes to take a little bit of medication when his mind starts to race. He is not on all the drugs that he was told he would be taking for the rest of his life. He lives a settled life and is married being in gainful employment for last many years.

This is a real life example of a psychiatric ‘illness’ that was alleviated with intensive therapy work dealing with traumatic issues in John’s life. Illnesses, in psychiatry, refer to thinking and behaviour patterns that do not fit the norm. It is impossible to know what someone is thinking of or perceiving till they talk about it and behave in a manner that is damaging to lives, including their own. It is presumed that the perception, behaviour and thinking are mediated through hormones and neurotransmitters in the body.

From psychiatric viewpoint there are references to ’stressful’ life events that contribute to mental illnesses. These events are those that cause emotional distress to the individual at the time of their occurrence. We do not know scientifically as to how these events cause a mental ‘illness’. To treat an’illness’ medication is necessary. So we see an excessive use of medicines in psychiatry.

In a physical illness- the ‘ill’ or diseased part of the body has to be kept free of any infections. The healing of the part is a spontaneous process that is done by Mother Nature. The best a surgeon can do is cut away the part that is cancerous, for example. He can do no more. We have to rely on Mother Nature to do the healing. The other ways in which cancer can be treated or prevented is by irradiation, changing the lifestyle or changing the diet or even with visualisation and imagery.

In psychiatric conditions, unfortunately, the medications do not help to heal the emotional ‘wound’ or emotional distress. When the body goes through an emotionally distressful experience, the chemicals in the body that are hormones and neurotransmitters, go through a stage of turmoil. This turmoil needs time to settle. In order for this turmoil to end, the body needs to ‘finish’ the processing of the emotional distress. This distress is experienced as ‘psychiatric illness’. When medication is introduced to treat the ‘illness’ the body stops processing the emotions that the person is going through. The sufferer actually becomes emotionally ‘numb’. This creates the impression of the ‘illness’ being controlled rather than being cured.

And ‘control’ is an interesting word that is prevalent in the field of psychiatry. When the sufferer falsely believes that they have been ‘cured’ as the symptoms are no longer there, they discontinue medications. The ‘illness’ then returns in most cases.

It is because of this reason that the emotional distress that is at the root cause of the condition is only a condition. If it is allowed to be expressed and emotional healing takes place, the ‘illness’ does not happen. Psychiatric illnesses are therefore only conditions that become more permanent because a person has not expressed the emotions to a point of completion. Recent researches are proving that expression of emotions is healthier than having a ’stiff upper lip’.

Pradeep K Chadha is a psychiatrist who specialises in helping patients with meditation and imagery using little or no medication. He is the author of The Stress Barrier-Nature’s Way To Overcoming Stress published by Blackhall Publishing, Dublin. He is based in Dublin, Ireland.His website address is http://www.drpkchadha.com

Only those who see the invisible can do the impossible
—Alan Cohen

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams –Eleanor Roosevelt

No matter what anyone tells you, words and idea can change the world — Robin William

The secret of success is to find a need and fill it
—-Dr Robert Schuller

Things became better when you expect the best instead of the worst– Dr Norman Vincent Pearle

There is only one way to make a great deal of money; and that is in a business of your own
— J. Paul Getty

Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality–Warren G. Bennis

The greatest investment a man can make is to invest in others– Zig Ziglar

Whatever your mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve– Napoleon Hill

Many of life’s failure are paople who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up
— Thomas Edison

No one else will have confidence in you if you don’t believe in yourself– Auspruger

Welcome problem for they are the real stimulants to success– Dr Robert Schuller

It is the courageous soul that believe and succeeds
— Sidney Bremer

If you cannot fly; run: If you cannot run, walk: If you cannot walk, then crawl. By all means, keep moving
–Martin Luther King Jnr

Everything comes if a man will only wait
–Benjamin Disraeli

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future
— John F. Kennedy

Those who keep on asking shall recieve, those who keep seeking shall find and those who keep on knocking shall find the doors opening– Don Cox

Achievers start were losers quit
–Prince Ben Mohammed

Love can fade away; Happiness can be forgotten; but memories of the passionate past are hard to dissolve
— Prince Ben Mohammed

No man has ever been successful without preparing himsel in advance–P.P Parker

Prince Ben Mohammed is award winning author, motivational speaker and publisher. He is the author of many life-changing books including the best - selling “SUCCESS IS NOW! PROVEN STEPS THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE.” Prince Ben is also the publisher of “SUCCESS IS NOW READERS DIGEST” a life changing magazine aimed at inspiring people to attaining greatness in life. For more information about His books, seminars, articles and events, call: 234-8037383767 or Email: usmanbashiru@yahoo.com

Have you ever wanted to do something really majorsomething stupendoussomething totally different and so down right incredible that the fact that you created the idea has you stimulated and excited?

Like, for instance, you decide to open your own business. You have the idea of exactly what you want to do and how you want to do it. You are so excited you can’t sleep because your mind is working overtime with thoughts and ideas.

But just as quick as the ideas come to you, a voice comes into your head that says, “Girrrrrrrrrrrrrrlllllllllllllll, just who do you think you are? You can’t do that. What are you, crazy? That’s just entirely too far out of your reach.”

Or, how about this one: (This is the one that always happens to me.) You start a diet and you see some cake or candy or piece of fried chicken, something that you KNOW you shouldn’t be eating if you are trying to lose weight. And that voice starts a-talkin’, “Go ahead. That little piece of cake ain’t gonna kill you.”

Or, what about this one: You have a dream of the perfect home for you, or the perfect career, or the perfect carsomething that you truly would like to have in your life. As you browse through a magazine or you watch “Cribs” on MTV, you see how the celebrities are living and you say to yourself, “Wow. I want to have that too.”

Then here comes that voice again, “How are you gonna have that? You can’t sing. You can’t act. Who’s going to pay you that type of money to do anything? You will never have a house like that - or a career that you love.”

Don’t you just HATE that voice?

It’s always so negative.

You’ve worked for months on trying to find God’s purpose for your life. You’ve done the exercises, listened to CD’s, read the “How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose” ebook, and you are now positive about your mission here on earth.

But that voice won’t leave you alone.

It keeps telling you that you must be crazy if you think you can make a living doing THAT. Who do you think you are? You can’t do it right now. It’s impossible. What if you fail? What if you make a fool out of yourself? Oh, NO, we can’t have that!

Eventually, if we don’t do anything, that voice we hear will beat us down, wear us out, cause us to be defeated, allow us to quit, give up and throw in the towel.

Let me introduce you to that voice. That voice is actually your EGO.

Believe it or not, your ego is only here to protect you. Although he might seem, at times, like a negative pest, his job is to protect you.

See, as a small child, you were fearless. You did things that most adults would be afraid to do. I see it all the time in my son. Even before he could walk, he liked to climb on the couch and flip himself over, backwards. Now, he’s four and he loves to flip. He is constantly flipping off of anything that’s higher than he is. This, of course, brings a lot of stress into my life because I’m always afraid he’s going to fall and “bust his head.” (Isn’t that what our mothers told us would happen if we jumped off of high places? “Boy, you better get down before you fall and bust your head.”)

He hasn’t “busted his head” yet, and somehow I don’t believe he ever will. He’s fearless. And it’s because he hasn’t developed an ego as of yet. Some people develop egos early–like my daughter, for instance. When she was first learning to walk, she fell down and hit her head on the table. It didn’t leave a mark or anything, but she cried like her life was about to end. It took her several months before she would even THINK about trying to walk. Her ego was telling her that if she tried that again, she was going to fall and hurt herself. And since our egos are here to protect us, it wouldn’t allow her to even try to walk. So, she didn’tfor a long time. Even until this day, if it looks as if she may fall and hurt herself, my daughter simply won’t do it. She watches in awe as her brother flips off of beds, sofas, walls, monkey bars, whatever. She gets really excited for him. But if you think she’ll even try, think again. She’s experienced the fall, and in return has developed an ego.

Our egos are designed to protect us. Like, for instance, when you were in high school and you met a girl that you were really attracted to, but you were very afraid to approach her because your ego told you that if you did, she would reject you and you would be the butt of all the jokes from the guys during gym class. So, you never bothered to approach her. You simply admired her from a distance.

Your ego wasn’t trying to be mean, or nasty or negative. No, not at all. It felt that it was doing the best thing for you. It doesn’t want to disappoint you. It doesn’t want you to be hurt. In fact, it has a very useful function. For instance, the first time you touched a hot stove when you were young, you immediately withdrew your hand. The next time you came near a stove, your ego kicked in and says, “Hey, GET BACK! Remember what happened the last time?” You didn’t touch it and you started to depend on your ego to protect you.

Sometimes the ego takes its job a little too serious. It’s so protective and its biggest fear is that you will get hurt–destroyed in some way. So, whenever you try to do something like step out of your comfort zone, your ego will try to stuff you back in.

Well, how do you get around that ego?

It’s simple. You can’t. It’s going to do its job because that is why it is here. The same way if you ever worked in sales, and you are making cold calls, trying to get in touch with the decision maker at a particular company. It’s really hard to get around the secretary or the gatekeeper, as sales people like to call him/her. No matter how many times you call, and no matter how many situations you create to try to get that phone call through to the decision maker, the secretary will NOT let you through. Why? Not because s/he hates you or has something against you, but because that is his/her job. It’s just not going to happen.

But, as with everything, there is a way to get around it.

• You have to listen to it. Hear it out. Let it finish whatever it has to say because it’s going to finish regardless. Might as well get it over with.

• Come up with STRONG points that will counter the points that your ego has thrown out to you. These points MUST BE STRONG or your ego simply won’t listen.

• You must be passionate about your convictions and determined to not allow your ego to have its way. It’s going to fight you on this, over and over, so you MUST stand firm.

• Compromise with your ego until you win it over to your side.

Let me give you an example:

You’ve discovered that your purpose is to open a school of dance where you teach children between the ages of 4 and 12 how to ballet dance. All of your life you’ve loved ballet and have been dancing since you were four years old. Of course, it’s just a hobby, something you like to do. You spend your days as a bank teller for Wachovia Bank.

However, you’ve reached the point in your life where you feel there has to be more to life than what you are presently doing. You stumbled on the Your Life’s Purpose website. You subscribed to the Your Life’s Purpose newsletter. You’ve read the “How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose” ebook. You are at the point where you believe that sharing your talent as a dancer is why God put you here on earth. So, you entertain the thought of opening a dance school.

EGO: “How are you going to open a dance school?”

YOU: I’m not sure right now, but I believe that if I pray on it hard enough, God will send me the information.

EGO: “You’re a bank teller? You’re not a “real” dancer.” How are you going to open a dance school?”

YOU: I am a real dancer. I’ve been dancing for 25 years now. I dance all the time. I may not be making a living as a dancer, but I AM a dancer. And I have made up my mind to live my dreams, my passions. And that is to live my life as a dancer. I want to share my talents with others by teaching young children how to dance the ballet.”

EGO: “This is just too big for you to handle. You are going to fail. You will waste all of your time and energy and it won’t work.”

YOU: “What if I got someone to help me? What if I found a person who is presently working as a dancer and is willing to help me out, perhaps even become a partner? What do you think about that? Does that sound like something I could do? And what if I took my time and didn’t rush into it but did a lot of research first? What if I started off really small and took baby steps? I’m not going to quit my job or anything like
that, at least not for now. Does that sound like it can work?”

EGO: “Ok. That sounds a little better. At least we have someone with more experience helping us out and you won’t go and quit your job and leave us to starve to death. I think this might work.”

See how it works. Instead of totally ignoring your ego and hoping it will go away, or instead of listening to it and letting it continuously hold you back, you simply talk to yourself until you find a solution that both you and your ego are comfortable with.

ACTION POINT: If you haven’t really noticed it before, take some time today and listen for that “other” voice that’s in your head. If you are fully aware of that voice, make a note today to NOT let it have its way. If there is something that you desire to do but you talk yourself out of it, make it a point to remember that the voice that is talking you out of doing whatever it is you desire, is the voice of your ego. Talk back. In your most convincing way possible, talk yourself into making a compromise. Perhaps simply taking things slowly might ease your ego. Oh, and make sure when you are talking to yourself that you are alone.

© 2005 http://www.dawnfields.com

Dawn Fields is a motivational speaker, author, and spiritual life coach. Visit the web site for tons of motivational material at http://www.dawnfields.com Tune in each Thursday at 9 p.m. as she hosts Your Life’s Purpose Interactive Internet Radio Show at http://www.dawnfields.com/radioshow.htm. Be sure to sign up for the motivational and inspiration newsletter, Your Life’s Purpose by sending a blank email to dawn@dawnfields.com with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

(ARA) - Is there a traffic jam in your bathroom? Do you find yourself bumping into your family or the walls while brushing your teeth? If so, it may be time to make your bathroom more functional by rethinking how you use the space.

According to Better Homes and Gardens Web site, www.bhg.com, a standard size bathroom is 35 to 80 square feet. A typical master bath is 100 square feet or more. While it may be small compared to other rooms in the house, this standard space can really open up when you combine your personal preferences and style with how you want to use the bathroom.

Assessing Your Bathroom’s Space

When working with homeowners to create a new room plan, I often start out with the big-picture question: “In a perfect world, what would your bathroom feel like?” In the past, answers have been “like the outside brought indoors” or “like a cottage on the lake.” Hidden in both of those answers was a key to a successful room plan — the concept of space. You can use the same square footage to create an open, shared space or a private, cozy space. The difference is how traffic patterns and designs can work together to result in a completely different feel.

When you’re reassessing your bathroom’s space, ask yourself the following questions to pinpoint a design that is the most functional for you.

* How many people will use this bathroom? Will they use it at the same time?

* Rethink the essentials. Do you need double sinks or a bidet in the guest bath?

* Take out fixtures that do not meet your functionality. If you are adding fixtures, look for adjoining space to add to your bathroom. Closets and fifth bedrooms are great options for more space.

Another great idea to thin out traffic in the bathroom is to add a sink to another room. American Standard came up with the clever idea of adding a round countertop sink in a glass makeup table in the bedroom.

This not only saves space in the bathroom, but it also allows for more privacy by splitting the areas into two rooms. The single-mount faucet is a simple, sleek option that blends with updated traditional and contemporary styles.

How much privacy do you need?

Should the toilet be placed in a separate room? Popular in the ’80s and ’90s, separate water closets have become a standard in new home design. Many bathroom designs tuck the toilet into a corner or separate space, out of sight from the bathroom’s entrance. If space is still an issue, a half wall or glassed partition can give the feel of more privacy without gobbling up square footage.

What is your bathing routine?

Do you need a shower or a tub or both? If there are multiple bathrooms in your home, there may be the opportunity to simplify function in one or more to open up space. One of my clients wanted a double steam shower instead of a tub for the master bath. This decision created space that they wouldn’t have used with a tub. This client then installed a soaking tub in one of the guest baths for smart space savings and resale value.

How does this bathroom work in the overall house plan?

Do you need to move entrances or change doors? Simply changing a hinged door to a sliding pocket door can convert a tight space into plenty of room. When I worked on the bathroom design and layout with American Standard’s 2003 Ugliest Bathroom Contest winner, I encountered a doorway that seemed out of place. We moved a hallway entrance from the master bath into the master bedroom for more privacy. And to save space, we used a pocket door instead of the original hinged door.

In addition to asking yourself these questions, you can assess your bathroom through the National Kitchen and Bath Association’s online questionnaire at www.nkba.com. In particular, the last survey section about room orientation is another tool to help you rethink your bathroom space and function.

Courtesy of ARA Content

About the author:

Courtesy of ARA Content

Planting roses isn’t actually complicated, as long as you have some good advice and tips to start with…

1. Check with your local gardening center or florist for the best type of roses to grow in you climate. If you are a novice, you should look fo? disease resistant types of roses because they require a lot less maintenance.

2. When planting roses, you want to pick a spot that is well lit in the morning. You also want an area that is sunlit for at least 6 hours a day. Roses need a great deal of light if they are to grow properly. If you live in a really hot climate though, you’ll probably get the best results by not planting your roses in direct sunlight.

3. Pick an area that has plenty of well drained soil. Great soil has a PH level where the amount of acid in the soil is at about 5.5-7.0. You can get a testing kit for your soil at any garden center.

4. Organic matter like manure or lime helps to nourish the roots of your roses. You should soak the roots in water or puddle clay for many minutes, and cut off any root’s ends that are broken.

5. The first 3-4 weeks after planting your roses, you should water them often. Usually this is when the top 2 inches of soil is dry. Roses need a lot of hydration and food to remain healthy.

6. Four weeks after planting, you should start soaking the bed every 2 weeks or so. You should do this in the morning for the best results.

7. Begin fertilization approximately 3 months after planting. Use 3-6 inches of mulch to control the moisture, temperature, and to stops weeds from coming up. Mulch also helps to lock in the vital nutrients your roses need in order to remain healthy.

8. Planting in the Spring is the best.

9. You want to plant your roses in an area that is well circulated with air. Your roses will not grow in an enclosed or tight area.

10. Dig a hole that is two times bigger than the amount of space that your roses take up. It makes it easier to plant them and creates a spaced area for them to grow with freedom. Poor circulation for your roses can cause fungal diseases. Using a larger hole also makes it easier for you to pull them up later and pot them if you’d like.

© 2004, Kathy Burns-Millyard and Garden-Source.com

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