THIS is fascinating – it’s rather dazzling

to see it presented this way.

HUMBLING, ISN’T IT?

NOW, HOW BIG ARE YOU?

AND HOW BIG ARE THE THINGS

THAT UPSET YOU TODAY?

KEEP LIFE IN PERSPECTIVE.

It’s like a dream come true…all the chocolate you could possibly want with absolute 0 calories and 0 fat.  Oh chocolate, glorious chocolate!  Can you imagine having all the chocolate you could ever dream of without any guilt whatsoever??!?  What’s the catch?  Well, notice I said having instead of eatting.  This chocolate isn’t for eatting, it’s for inhaling!

It comes in four luscious flavors: plain chocolate, mint chocolate, mango chocolate and raspberry chocolate.  Oh, you want to know more about the inhaling part?  Researchers say that this is just the beginning of a new trend in the culinary field to help society loose their obsession with calories and to stop the obesity epidemic while still satisfying cravings for various comfort foods.  I’m not totally convinced but it sounds like a cool idea.

What’s next?  Banana cream pie inhalers, twinkie puffers, inhaled doughnuts, steak and potatoes that require no chewing?  Who knows.  Stay tunned to the Le Whif company, I guess!

Every channel you seem to watch now has coverage of the swine flu.  Here in Canada, there’s one case of the swine flu in the entire province.  Unfortunately, it’s in my city.  I’ve got to admit that I’m a little freaked out.  Especially with kids in public schools and daycares.  You never know which kids have just gotten back from vacation or a visit with family from another country.  I’m not ready to run out and buy one of the swine flu kits that are quickly selling out but I definitely understand those that do.  It’s very scary when you cannot protect your family from diseases — especially diseases getting as much buzz as the swine flu.  In reality, it’s probably better to avoid Mexico because of their drug turf wars than because of a risk of swine flu.  However, even in my far removed from Mexico location, surgical masks are sold out city wide.  I’ve seen people wearing them and it definitely makes you feel unprotected when you don’t have one yourself.  For now I’m going to use the common sense methods of hand washing, not touching or allowing my kids to touch their eyes, nose or mouth and trying to avoid people that are sick.  Who knows what the next few weeks will bring though.  If there were any swine flu kits to be had, I just might scoop one up!  Remember to wash your hands, go to the doctor if you think you’re sick and stay away from areas (such as Mexico) that are experiencing a surge in swine flu cases.  Above all, try not to panic.  Fear of disease is probably worse than the disease itself!

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Carrie Fisher did quick speech at a roast for George Lucas and totally stole the show. This is one of the best roast speeches that I have seen and I must admit that I really didn’t see it coming from her. She steals the show.

Check out these gorgeous recycled glass terrariums from VivaTerra.  Their pear shape and fluted top make them perfect for a vase as well.  They come with the sand and four minimal maintenace air plants for $79 or empty for use as a vase for $49.  I’d definitely love to get one of these as a gift — terrarium style if you’re reading this husband of mine!

The miniature dessert landscape brings a piece of the outdoors in while the styling of the recycled glass pear evokes a sense of symmetry and beauty found only in nature.  Beautiful and environmentally friendly.  What more could you ask for?

In this rotten economy, everyone is looking for a way to make a profit.  The recession started with a huge dip in the stock market.  Many investment services and stockbrokers advise sticking it out.  They want investors to think of the long term profit potential instead of looking at their stock’s values every single day and freaking out when they lose even more money.  This is easy advice to give when it’s not your own money.  However, when you see your retirement savings slowly dwindling away it’s hard not to panic.

I did a quick review of a website called wickedprofits.com.  They have an entirely different view point on the stock market and how to make money.  Instead of looking at the long term potential, this advisory services looks at the short term real profit.  They advise you to hold each trade for 15 to 30 days regardless of whether it’s winning or losing.  On the surface, I thought that this really seemed like a crazy idea.  Why would you sell a stock that is increasing in value?  But if you look at it from a more traditional standpoint, why would you hold onto a stock that is decreasing in value?  Quite the conundrum.

There is actually quite a few benefits of holding onto a stock for a short period of time and then selling it regardless of how it is doing.  Firstly, you don’t loose a bunch of money because of tumbling stock prices over time.  Secondly, you save money on trading commissions because you are only making two trades per month — one purchase and one sell.  Lastly, a huge savings on capital gain taxes is possible because of certain laws that split the profits 60% to 40% on stock index options that are broad based.

Wicked Profits really do seem to be attainable through this system.  They average a 5% monthly return even though they only aim for a 4% minimum.  They also have a pretty impressive win ratio of roughly 80%.  There are, of course, no guarantees with the stock market.  No one truly knows what is going to happen from day to day.  Rather, people make educated estimates that usually pay off.  Please make sure that you do not invest money that you absolutely cannot afford to loose.  This service has a $10,000 minimum with a recommendation of at least $15K investment.  That can be alot to loose.  However, the potential for big profits are also there.  Good luck!

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How can you save paper, time and money all at the same time?  Use an Online Debt Settlement program to consolidate your loans or make a repayment schedule.  There is none of the embarassing or time consuming counselling session included with more traditional debt settlement companies.  This program is entirely online although there are always live reps standing by if you have questions or require assistance.

You no longer have to fill out a ton of forms and waste paper by filling out the forms by hand.  Debt consolidation can involve a whole lot of paperwork so filling everything out online can save some serious amounts of a precious resource.  It can also save a bunch of another precious resource — your time!  You don’t have to make an appointment, drive there and waste gas and cause pollution, find a parking space, etc. etc.  This company allows you to do everything from the comfort and ease of your own home.  You could even leave your pyjamas on if you want to!

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I ran across a website a couple of weeks ago called Stripnotize.  It’s a business run out of Florida that customizes high heels (okay, outrageously high high heels!).  They often use recycled materials to customize the shoes.  I wrote an article about them at Green UpGrader, where I write about once a week or so.  I liked the darn shoes so much that I decided to order a pair of them for myself.  I guess that’s what happens when you’re a bit of a shopaholic…

Anyways, the only limits I put on the design team is that I wanted them to be an expression of my eco-friendly lifestyle.  Here’s what they came up with.

Christa Gruenwald, owner and designer at Stripnotize, used pressed flowers and plants, recycled paper, and hemp cording to create a very organic looking and feeling shoe.  They’re gorgeous, girly, super sexy and eco-friendly all at the same time.  For better pictures and pricing information, go here.  They’re even named after me!  (blush.)  They should be here any day now.  I’m sooooo excited!  Yes, I admit it.  Shoes excite me.

The recession seems to be reaching into every level of our lives.  It seems as though every day brings more bad news.  More companies are going bankrupt, stores are closing, jobs are being lost, homes are being foreclosed on.  It’s hard to even stay calm even if you do have a secure job and home.  So many people have lost huge amounts of money when the stock market took a dive.  Their retirement money is very diminished and plans for the future are extremely uncertain.

Personal Loans are hard to come by nowadays as banks are very unsure as to client’s abilities to pay the loans back.  It can be hard to get financing when you really need it.  Whether it’s loans for home upgrades, new (or newer) vehicles, or education for yourself or your dependents, it can be very difficult to jump through all the hoops that lenders are putting out right now.  Click the link above to get access to fill online form to get a personal loan at a competitive rate through a group lending institutions throughout the United States.  It’s good to know that there are lenders that are still available for people who need them!

This is a sponsored post with 100% real opinions.