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Fashion marketing is undergoing a quiet revolution at the moment. Traditionally new fashion designers have had to compete with the major corporate labels through magazine advertising, direct mail, events promotions and if the budget is there, television ad campaigns. The Internet has for a long time been a useful tool for introducing sales leads to your clothing range, but until recently, budget dictated your site’s popularity on the net.

Things are rapidly changing, and it is almost all due to the Social Networking phenomenon. You will have no doubt heard of Facebook and MySpace, however over the past couple of years there has been a distinct increase in social community sites that have geared themselves towards the consumer lifestyle market, and in particularly fashion. Many of these online communities run on a democratic principle. Ideally, if enough people vote or bookmark a particular product, say a t-shirt for example, the product and designer’s popularity increases. Within a relatively short time. Using tools such as bookmark sharing and recommendations, a relatively unknown designer can attract an enormous amount of positive publicity.

I have researched and collated a list of the most popular and useful fashion social networks for you to browse at your own leisure. You will find there is a wide variety and scope offered by these fashion-related communities. The larger and more established sites are great for breaking new products in to the fashion consumer market, others will provide invaluable assistance from fellow designers, retailers and manufacturers. Most of whom I am sure will be more than willing to guide you through the next stages of your burgeoning fashion career.

Fashionising.com is dedicated to fashion, this social fashion community offering a news, photo and video service for upcoming and established designers, labels, models and more. Very friendly and welcoming community, mainly professionals in all fields of fashion.

Stylehive.com is an online style portal for people who love and/or work in fashion, design and retail. You can connect with fellow style addicts and share all of your new design discoveries and latest finds together. A trend-setters social-networking club, part pop-culture lab, Stylehive.com is one big ensemble cast of trend-setters creating, discovering and buying the next big thing!

Kaboodle.com is a social shopping network where people discover, recommend and share products. Kaboodle’s excellent range of shopping widgets mean you can begin organizing all your favorite items in shared lists, discovering new things from people with similar style. Easy to find the best prices and discounts on the most popular products. This site offers fashion products amongst many others including gadgets, soft furnishings, art and more.

ThisNext.com focuses its online and social-shopping community more towards the next big trends. Your popular votes count, everyone recommends their favorite up and coming products for others to discover and purchase online. This global community is in the pursuit of cross-cultural shopping habits for the year to come. This site is laden with more branded advertising and e-commerce solutions making it a more attractive media platform for corporate marketing. The system encompasses each product in a process of discovery, consideration, trial and purchase. Fashion is a big favorite here.

StyleFeeder.com is a personal shopping engine that uses a unique matchmaking system to offer daily personal recommendations, just for you. It’s a great way to find new clothes, shoes, in fact anything stylish and keep track of what you’re shopping for online, using visual their bookmark options. Great widgets for incorporating your style-feeds in to your personal blogs or commercial sites. I regularly use this site to promote my own fashion — a great resource for designers.

ShareYourLook.com is a new fashion community for all trends-setters, shoppers and designers, (currently in beta). If you read articles New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue, you will probably recognize the co-founder’s name – fashion have appeared in The New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue, fashion journalist Melissa Ceria. The format is easy to use and on the eye: upload photos of you modeling your favorite outfits, and let other members rate your look and leave you comments. Don’t worry, there is a policy of fair and objective criticism, even compliments and most of all useful style tips. The whole site relies on a great blog style tagging process, plus a great feature where you’ll be able to post favourite ‘looks’ to your network of fashion friends. You even get your own styleblog.

OsoYou.com is the UK’s first social networking and fashion website. Focusing more on High Street fashion and all the latest clothing items, plus features on the hottest celebrity styles and a chance to share fashion with your friends via some innovative social networking options.

Avenue7.com should be classed as up and coming. From my research it seems to be aimed at a younger audience. They already use some rather clever programming to help you create your own perfect outfit and also offer fashion scouts. However there are some even more promising features in the pipeline including ‘The Fashion Show’ and ‘Start a Makeover’. This is more of a hot or not direction for the field of fashion social networking, but it’s bright, bold and adventurous and I’ll take a punt it will do well in the future.

StyleMob.com is rather funky looking (though corporate owned) street style community StyleMob offering a service that is part Hot or Not, part fashion magazine and part MySpace.

TeamSugar.com is one of the latest contributions to the market. Backed by the Sugar Network, this series of blogs primarily targets fashion-conscious women. The most popular is PopSugar.com, where celebrity gossip and fashion come together in a hedonistic mix. TeamSugar.com pro-actively promote their content, encouraging their community to form around it. Blog syndication integrates the network — PopSugar.com, DearSugar.com, TeamSugar.com and FabSugar.com, encouraging users to switch sites to see the latest news on each one. Ultra intelligent marketing – helping to boost the popularity of the whole network at the same time. Standard social networking features friends list, leave comments, send messages, write a blog and voting in polls.

This supplemental list offers links to more general/shopping social networks that feature some fashion content, and a few to keep an eye out for in the future:

TheFind.com is the leading shopping search engine to find stores, brands and products, bigger than any other product finder online.

ShopWiki.com is a shopping search engine designed to help consumers find specific products on the Internet with ease. It is the only shopping search engine that combines advanced Web-crawling technology with a consumer-written wiki.

Etsy.com is an online marketplace for buying & selling all things handmade and only handmade.

Fastmatch.com Very new and more social model, however the site is currently still in beta and the interface needs some serious work.

Whatsbuzzing.com Productwiki.com Yub.com Selfploitation.com A brand new site for artists to help each other to promote/sell their products.

To read more fashion related articles visit our popular street wear blog at http://buy-tees.net

Prior to the invention of automotive GPS units, traveling to unknown areas had to be done through reading a map and/or asking for directions. Both methods had problems. For instance, how can one effectively read a map while driving? Map-reading is only best if there is another passenger in the car, which isn’t always possible. Asking for directions can also be annoying, at least if the person giving the directions does so in a manner that is not as clear.

Fortunately, with the emergence of automotive GPS units the process of map-reading and getting directions has never been easier as each can be done either through voice activation, touching the screen, pushing buttons or a combination. Maps pinpointing the exact location pop right up on the screen, while directions can be given through a computer-generated voice. Nothing could be easier or better. The only issue is deciding which automotive GPS unit should be purchased. This article will serve as a guide telling consumers what they should be on the lookout for when choosing automotive GPS units.

The first area of consideration when buying automotive GPS units is seeing how accurate the device is. One way to determine this is by how many channels the GPS unit has. This is because more channels means the unit will be able to communicate with a larger number of satellites, resulting in more coverage. Another way to determine the accuracy of most automotive GPS units is through how its antenna is designed. Make sure the antenna is placed in an area of the unit where it will be able to stand freely.

The next thing to think about when looking at automotive GPS units is size. There are some automotive GPS units that will not be portable. Onstar, which has to be installed in one’s car, is an example of an automotive GPS unit that can not be moved from car-to-car. Many other automotive GPS units vary in portability.

Thirdly, perspective buyers of automotive GPS units should take notice of a unit’s interface. More expensive automotive GPS units will contain voice-activation and/or touch-screens, while cheaper ones can only be used through a series of buttons. If another person is in the car, using buttons is not as bad, but if only the driver can use the unit, it is important that it be as hands-free as possible. It is also important to try to get an automotive GPS unit that has the capability to give directions through a computer-generated voice. Doing so is another way to ensure that the driver of the car keeps their eyes on the road and nowhere else.

The software that the automotive automotive GPS unit uses is also critical. Most top of the line units have very good mapping software included with the unit. However, as time passes the mapping software becomes out of date. You should make sure that you automotive GPS units software is updated at least once every 6 months. Frequently there is cost for this service but if you live in fast growing urban environment then it is a good investment. Your automotive GPS unit is only as good as its operating and mapping software.

When looking at automotive GPS units one should consider: ease of use, accuracy, size and interface. Keeping these elements in mind ensures that a buyer obtains an automotive GPS unit that is reliable and will best assist them when they are on the road.

James Kesel, MS is the Publisher of GPS Auto Tracker providing information on automotive GPS units and the latest GPS Tracking and Navigation systems.

Are professional resume writing services, and professional resume writers, worth the money?

The phrase “where’s the beef” was first introduced in a Wendy’s television commercial in early 1984. It referred to the amount of beef that was between the two sides of the competition’s hamburger bun, and it has become a universal phrase that questions the value of a product or service. And, professional resume writing services, most of which are now web-based, certainly fall in the category of services the value of which many people would question.

So, let’s spend a few minutes exploring the question of the value of professional resume writers and professional resume writing services. Let’s find out if there is any beef.

First, from my perspective as an Executive Recruiter, I can assure you that most people have no clue how to write an effective resume, much less an impact resume. Over the course of my career which includes several “C”-level accounting and finance roles, I would speculate that less than 10% of the resumes I saw were at least of a “B” quality. And, now that I have been in Executive Recruiting since 2005, the percentage of at least good resumes is even less than 10%. So, from that perspective alone, I conclude that people need help writing resumes. As a result, even a small amount of “beef” produced by a professional resume writer is better than just air between the two sides of the bun.

Second, no resume writer can write a resume that will overcome “fatal” candidate issues. What would constitute fatal candidate issues? Fatal in this context might be a person applying for a safety or security position that has a criminal theft record. Or, it may be a person applying for a driving position that has already had his license suspended for driving infractions. No matter how good the resume, even a minimum background check will highlight these fatal issues. So, do not expect your professional resume writer to overcome these issues.

As an aside, as a recruiter I do not, for the most part, consider age to be a fatal candidate issue. That does not mean that age is not relevant – but it does mean that the resume for that person absolutely has to be an impact resume. Look for an article from me on this in the near future.

Third, even the best professional resume writer cannot overcome what I call systemic candidate weaknesses. What would those be? Job-hopping is a systemic candidate weakness. Continued poor performance is a systemic candidate weakness. Work ethic and attitude issues are systemic candidate weaknesses. Keep in mind, especially for a professional resume service that is internet based, systemic candidate weaknesses often are not disclosed by the candidate. And it is not the responsibility of the resume service or the professional resume writer to work to uncover those issues. But, if you, as a candidate, know that your work history contains one or more systemic candidate weaknesses, do not expect a professionally-written resume to overcome those on your behalf.

Fourth, for what I describe as the “viable” candidate (i.e., no fatal issues or systemic candidate weaknesses) , I believe that a professional resume writer who is working within a set of consistently applied processes put in place by a professional resume writing service can absolutely “find the beef” for that candidate. Why? As I note above, most candidates simply cannot put together a good resume, much less an impact resume. Candidates are good – maybe great – at doing their jobs. But their jobs are not writing resumes. Most resume writers are good – maybe great – at doing their jobs. But their jobs are not being accountants, or analysts, or engineers, or craftsmen. Their job is to professionally write resumes. So, the clear expectation is that professional resume writers can “find the beef” for almost all viable candidates.

Fifth, there are exceptions to every rule. I have a candidate who has a highly specialized skill in the area of

federal taxation. In her high school and college years she wrote and scripted plays. She is a highly skilled

writer in addition to being a highly skilled tax professional and those are complementary skills to each other. And, she has written a powerful resume for herself. I gave her three tips for her resume to bulk up the “beef” and the result is an outstanding impact resume. When the time is right for her to move out of her current employment situation, she will be a great candidate to work with.

Likewise, there are exceptions on the side of resume writers. Most importantly in my opinion is that the best

professional resume writers should possess complementary skills. I believe strongly that the best professional resume writers are people who either have been involved in, or are currently involved in, executive recruiting activities. These are professionals who talk with hiring mangers every day. They know what hiring managers want to see in a resume. They are also skilled at learning how resumes presented to a hiring manger in one industry should perhaps be different than resumes presented to a hiring manger in another. And, every successful executive recruiter spends hours weekly to work with his or her candidates to clean up and “find the beef’ in those candidates’ resumes. So, in order to become successful recruiters, they must be successful resume writers as well. In my opinion, the combined skill of executive recruiting and resume writing is too powerful to ignore when it comes to selecting a professional resume writer.

Last, most resume writers have a “model” which they utilize. Personally, I believe that the use of KSAs and MSAs, when combined effectively in a resume, can create a compelling Candidate Value Proposition that will make it easy for a hiring manger to “find the beef” and ask for the interview. I think that what is most important, however, is that you feel comfortable with whatever model the resume writing service has developed. And, if the website is not clear on that – if you have to ask the question “where’s the beef” when you look at their website – then there is less chance that the service will create a resume for you that keeps hiring managers from asking “where’s the beef”.

So let’s now ask the question again. Are professional resume writing services and professional resume writers worth the money? If you, as a candidate, have fatal issues or systemic weaknesses, it is probably not worth the money. But if you are a viable candidate, and you do not possess exceptional writing skills, and especially if you cannot be passionate about your own career achievements and cannot commit that passion to writing, then a professional resume writing service may be your greatest ally in your job search, and may be quickest path to having an impact resume.

To learn more about impact resumes, click here: Impact Resume

JOHN J. PETER CPA (inactive)
Owner, J. Peter and Associates and http://www.financeresumewriters.net

PROFILE: An experienced Executive Recruiter and seasoned CFO, COO, CAO, Controller and Chief Audit Executive for various multinational, national and regional companies, who has transitioned into the highly competitive staffing industry for senior level accounting and finance professionals.
HIGHLIGHTS OF QUALIFICATIONS

• Recruiting/Staffing
• Chief Financial Officer
• Chief Operating Officer
• Chief Accounting Officer
• Financial Management
• Internal Audit/Risk Assessment

Accounting Resume

Dog training is an integral part of maintaining a healthy relationship between you and your pet. There are various pet books available at discount pet supply stores, but if you are looking for the cliff notes, I recommend this type of pet training formula. A typical 3-step procedure in caring for your animal should follow these 3 guidelines: Discipline, Exercise and Reward.

Discipline:

A dog more so than any other pets needs discipline. This is simply because the Canine species is one of the more social and trainable domestic pets. You don’t want your Labrador going crazy when company comes over or a Shepherd that barks at the moon. So, in order to train your pet, you must show it that you are the boss.

In the animal Kingdom, there is a hierarchy and this hierarchy is natural in pack animals, such as your dog. So, you simply show it that you are the leader. In order to do this, you must act like the leader. This means that your pet should follow you in and out of rooms, doorways or even on a leash. Never let your pet lead you and if it tries to go around you cut off its path just like a real Alpha male would do. Shorten your leash to 12in if your pet continuously pulls forward on the leash. Teach your pet discipline and never reward anything but the absolute best behavior. This stage requires much patience from the pet owner and is a crucial part of a healthy pets life. Remember you are training your pet, not the other way around.

Exercise:

Another critical aspect of training your pet is exercise. Certain breeds will require more exercise then others. Typically it is the working breed type dogs that require the most. For these types of pets a 45-minute per day workout session is crucial. Whenever possible you should workout with your dog. Whether it is throwing a ball, going for a jog or just walking around in the woods, this time is integral in bonding with your pet. Be sure to have a good dog leash or harness for your pet if you live in a busy part of town.

Typically dogs that are destructive or overly aggressive aren’t getting enough exercise. If your pet isn’t tired at night, run them during the day. If you give your dog adequate exercise it will help him or her calm down and be more responsive to training. Have a spot for your dog to sleep and ensure that they lay down there consistently. For outside dogs provide a dog house or structure and for inside dogs pet beds will work nicely. This again shows the dog their place in this household.

Reward:

Rewarding your animal can mean many different things. To a pet, reward may mean a treat, a nice scratch on the butt or playing ball. Keep that in mind when you are training your pet. You don’t want to come home and immediately love on your pet, because it may see that as reward for an action. Instead come home and ask your pet to sit or shake, then reward them with a hug or scratch. When you pet behaves badly, you do not hit your pet or hurt your pet, but rather do not reward your pet and ignore your pet. Remember, your pet sees attention as reward. In fact, you should often ignore your pet as you walk into the room.

Have you ever seen puppies or inferior dogs run up and lick an Alpha male? Of course you have, that’s the way they show they are subordinate. How does the alpha male react? He simply ignores them or shuns them away with a snarl.

Now remember the same holds true for this hierarchy. Your pets runs up to you and licks you or jumps on you, it wants attention, provide it only after a desired action and sometimes ignore it all together. This lets your pet know, you are the king and a pet that knows its place is much easier to train.

Pet Training can last a short period of time or a long period of time, but is totally dependent on the owner. When you train your pet don’t think like a human, think like a dog. How a dog interacts with other dogs, how they like to run and play and what makes them feel like they were rewarded. Pet owners often need more training then their pets. Follow these three steps and your dog is guaranteed to respond.

Dawn Rose is a pet enthusiast and avid pet advocate. She runs a blog and pet news site called Front Page Pets. She also writes articles for Pet Super Store. Many of the Pet Supplies she writes about can be found there.

How to buy online pet supplies, saving money and same time getting good quality? Instead of going to pet shop in your neighborhood you can find quality and cost saving products by shopping online. You can buy higher quality and still lower priced products from online pet supplies stores. Normal stores have to spend money to their storefront buildings and employees which forces them to keep prices high. Online stores does not have those expenses and that shows in lower prices for pet supplies.

Most of us are considering our pets as part of our family, and wants to buy pet supplies that help our best friends be healthy and happy. Expert recommendations on those sites are free and you should take advantage of them. People who really cares about pets are keeping those sites up just to give people professional pet care advice.

People like you are writing reviews on products. It has become popular feature on pet supply sites. People who loves their pets wants to give their opinion about products to the other pet owners. Reviews might tell what collar/toy/or other item worked well for their dog and why it was a good choice just for their dog. This is very useful if you you have similar dog of your own.

You can shop whenever you want. Traditional stores can not be open 24/7. Also most famous online pet supplies sites has 24/7 customer support. Online pet supply websites wants your pet (and you) to be happy with your purchases.

The prices of pet supplies can be easily compared online. Just type product name in your favorite search engine and you get many different prices for that product. Check out the shipping + other extra prices too. If some online pet supplier offers much cheaper products and free shipping, they could have lower quality products which could harm your pet.

You can also have your pet food delivered to your home. Many better online pet supplies shops are offering delivery programs. You can have discount prices if you sign up to their shipping service where you can schedule food delivery and quantity. You can choose from many online pet supply websites/stores. Find the one that suits for your purposes. Shopping online is fun and easy way for shopping and you can do it from your home!

Jukka runs Pet Supply Blog and has had pets all his life.

Making money because of affiliate company internet marketing, aka “affiliate marketing” can be one of the uttermost gratifying endeavors you could ever begin. What’s great about this endeavor is that men and women can join and build their way to massive profits. Affiliate company internet marketing has been known to be an inexpensive, assessable system of achieving long-term profits. In reality, you can begin even with a limited budget. And with affiliate company internet marketing, you possess the advantage of working at home and experiencing the liberty and power of working for yourself.

But there are also various people who failed in this type of business. It could be because they lack understanding and tactics. If you are a web site owner and you desire to join in an affiliate company internet marketing business, you have to understand where to find great programs.

Clickbank, The Premier Affiliate Company Internet Marketing Program

Clickbank is a model site to begin. Here, you can discover one of the largest affiliate company internet marketing programs in the world. You simply need to visit their site, CLICKBANK and obtain a Clickbank ID. From Clickbank’s home page, advance to “Earn Commissions” and scan for the products and services that completely fit your goals. These products are normally positioned according to their reputation.

Clickbank is one of the affiliate company internet marketing programs that assists as a 3rd party between the web merchants and the affiliate company internet marketing associates. It is accountable in providing the technology to deliver the vendor’s offers and campaigns. The affiliate company internet marketing manager also does the job of gathering commission fees from the vendor and giving it to the associates involved in the program.

Clickbank provides you a large and successful organization of publishers or affiliates to tap into. To be more definite, Clickbank has more than 100,000 affiliate company internet marketing associates who are experts in locating targeted clients for your associate program. The explanation for why a large number of affiliates are becoming a part of Clickbank is probably because gaining commissions in this organization is absolutely fair and clear.

Becoming a Clickbank Affiliate Company Internet Marketing Vendor

For most people, applying for an account with Clickbank is so simple. All you have to do is sign up at their site for free and they will begin to sell your products. Maintain a web site that provides your potential customers detailed information about your offered product or services. At your website, you must also maintain a comprehensive technical support pages for your product. In return, Clickbank will promote and sell your product, give customer service for your product, allow their affiliates to pass on traffic to your web site, enable you to encourage new affiliates to advertise your web site, furnish real-time sales reporting for you and the affiliates and send you and all affiliates a paycheck twice a month.

Becoming a Clickbank Affiliate Company Internet Marketing Associate

If you’re a future affiliate company internet marketing superstar, you definitely will not have a problem becoming a participant of this network. First, you will need to place their link on your website and if you don’t possess a Clickbank account, you will want to complete the extremely simple affiliate company internet marketing registration form and create your own Clickbank account. Then, after you have created your username, you are at liberty to select whatever merchandising tools you desire to use in order to bring in more clicks and create more sales. After selecting business tools, you can now get your associate link.

That’s how easy it is to join Clickbank. But becoming a Clickbank super affiliate is no minor achievement. It means you need to possess the power to sell lots of affiliate merchandise. You also want to have knowledge in search engine optimization, email marketing, ezine marketing, reciprocal linkage, link exchanges and other systems of promoting your affiliate company internet marketing program.

Becoming an Affiliate Company Internet Marketing Superstar

Amidst the secrets to become affluent in affiliate company internet marketing is to come up with great content based website and put your associate links in all your content. Your primary objective here is to present your visitors with great quality content concerning the things they are engrossed in. Set aside the job of selling. It should be done by the sales letter page you are directing them to.

Promote multiple affiliate programs in your website but don’t promote everything the planet has to sell. Just select the affiliate company internet marketing programs that fit your site and concentrate on them. Then, it is smart to automate the entire process, giving you ample time for different ventures. Yes, automation is another key to becoming a top affiliate company internet marketing associate.

Of course, you have to expend more time in reading, learning and taking up the changes in affiliate company internet marketing business. Because of this, you’ll stay on top of the trends. If you are familiar with online marketing, you’ll realize how critical it is to stay up-to-date. In this type of business, what worked and what was accepted few months ago may not work at present-day. So always see to it that you comprehend what’s new in affiliate company internet marketing day-to-day.

Affiliate Company Internet Marketing Can Be Your Financial Vehicle

Even though it can genuinely be hard work becoming a super affiliate, you shouldn’t give thought to quitting. Keep in mind that in affiliate company internet marketing business, you want to develop perseverance, self-control and knowledge. These traits will enlighten you to carry on no matter how difficult the job is. Also, check your affiliate company internet marketing statistics. This will help you find out what is working and what is not. Make important changes if required but do it one at a time and be patient.

Don’t forget that in affiliate company internet marketing, everything won’t take place immediately. And it will not occur without blood, sweat and substantial time commitment. Again, simply encompass patience, persistence and knowledge; then do above mentioned tactics. Once you know it, you will begin gaining profits. Trust me, the benefit of all your efforts here in affiliate company internet marketing shall be way too sweet.

Richard Trice has been marketing online since 1999 and has sold millions of dollars worth of products. You can Discover the #1 Weapon that is responsible for his success at The Real Secret to Massive Online Success! [http://www.guerillamarketingtool.com/affiliate2]

Often, when considering cooking dinner with a Crockpot, people may automatically think of soups, stews, a pot roast or chicken pieces. However, with a little creativity and a spice rack some delicious, impressive foods can be the result.

Slightly altering recipes from a variety of cookbooks and sources, Crockpot cooking need not be mundane. If you are leaning towards a recipe that calls for slow roasting in the oven, use the Crockpot instead!

One of the main reasons for not using the Crockpot with more creative recipes might be the fear of the unknown for some cooks. Trying something new with an long-standing, tried and true appliance can be a worrisome prospect to some and for good reason. However, trying and failing is better than not trying at all! If one recipe doesn’t work for you, try the next one, and the next, until you find a grouping of recipes that will work. Always remember to write down the ones that do work, so you’ll have the recipes at the ready the next time you wish to try “something new”.

The beauty of the Crockpot, when it comes to cooking, is it allows whatever ingredients you are using to marinate in their flavorful juices. If your primary ingredient is a pork roast, a slow cooker helps to create a tender, tasty piece of meat. In altering recipes from cookbooks, always remember, the lid stays on during the cooking stage, therefore any recipe that requires liquids will use less, due to lack of evaporation.

Some suggestions for the Crockpot might be lasagna, linguine with clam sauce, your choice of white or red, macaroni and cheese, fish with stuffing, Swedish meatballs with gravy, adding a layer of egg noodles for good measure, or meatloaf, a staple in most households.

As most gourmet recipes call for wine, flavored vinegars, olive oil or some combination of the three, some of the liquid is provided but when in doubt add a can of flavored stewed tomatoes, liquid and all, to provide some zest to your dinner table. In addition, if you find yourself at a loss for a liquid, you can always add a cup or two of beef or chicken bouillon or broth to add some flavor to whatever it is you’re cooking.

Crock-pots can be used to create a tremendous variety of Hors d’oeuvre, entrees, side dishes and desserts. With the array of sizes in which crock-pots are available, the possibilities are unlimited. Given the versatility of cooking with a Crockpot, you do not have to feel trapped with the same old, tired recipes.

Overcoming your fears and trying something new in your crock-pot will be an advantageous and delicious way to feed your family while not spending all your time in the kitchen, both before and after dinner. Try some new recipes in the crock-pot when company comes and give yourself more time to enjoy your company, which is really what entertaining is all about, isn’t it?

Gourmet cooking in your crock-pot is obtainable and oh so delectable! Your family will love you for it and guests will marvel at how much time they might think you have spent preparing a delicious, “time-consuming” meal making them feel even more special!

The author loves cooking and sharing cooking tips with everyone. Take a look at this article on becoming a gourmet cook for more gourmet ideas. For some more information on cooking for kids take a look at this interesting article at http://hubpages.com/hub/Become-A-Gourmet-Cook

Bowls is a sport that is played and followed by millions throughout the world. It is a game of skill and precision rather than physical fitness and has therefore often been associated as a game for the older generation. However, many of the upcoming champions are becoming increasingly younger and the sport has spent recent years making its competitions quicker and more colourful to encourage followers.

Bowls can be played indoors or outdoors, and the rules are the same for both. Put simply, the aim of the game is to get your bowls as close as possible to a small white ball called the ‘jack’.

In the singles competition, one of the two opponents flips a coin and begins a segment of the competition by placing the mat and rolling the jack to the other end of the green to serve as a target. Once it has come to rest, the jack is aligned to the canter of the rink and the players take turns to roll their bowls from the mat towards the jack.

When all the bowls have been played, a competitor or team gets one point for each of their bowls that is closer to the jack than the opponent’s closest bowl.

After all the bowls have been played, the direction is reversed which signals the end of an end.

In group games, the team captain always plays last and has a key role in directing the team’s shots and tactics.

Although it sounds easy, the fact that the bowls are not completely round and do not therefore travel in a straight line, means there is a great level of skill and tactics involved to win a match.

The game of Bowls has a distinctive history, dating all the way back to the Egyptians. Based on artefacts found in tombs dating circa 5,000 B.C, it appears that the Egyptians used to enjoy playing a version of skittles using round stones.

Different versions of this form of game then spread throughout the world and can be seen in the many types of bowls games played today. In Italy the game Bocce developed, which is a precision sport closely related to bowls with a common ancestry from ancient games played in the Roman Empire. In France the famous game of Boules arose from Bowls. This is a game that is played using metal balls, often on unusual and challenging terrain such as sand. The aim of the game is to get your large, heavy balls as close as possible to the small, white ‘jack’.

The traditional game of bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, has particularly developed popularity throughout England, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and more recently, Denmark. The oldest recorded bowls green is in Southampton, England, which dates back to 1299.

There are also many famous bowling fans throughout English history. Perhaps one of the most infamous in bowls folklore is Sir Francis Drake who, according to legend, insisted on completing his game of bowls in Plymouth before setting sail to confront the Spanish Armada in 1588.

King Henry VIII and King James I were also said to be keen lawn bowlers and even introduced bowling legislation for their subjects!

In 1903, the English Bowling Association was officially founded and began to organise and direct clubs and competitions. Previously competitions had always taken place but for the first time an extensive league and organised contests sprang up.

Indoor variations of the bowls game also appeared, largely due to the problem of the English winter stopping outdoor play. Indoor Bowls is simply the indoor version of Lawn Bowls, which is played on strips of artificial green a similar length to Lawn Bowls rinks.

All versions of the sport have now grown enormously and there is a wealth of leagues, clubs, amateur and professional bowling leagues and competitions throughout the world.

World Bowls grew out of the Commonwealth Games when it was first held 70 years ago (then known as the Empire Games). It was originally intended that only athletics would form part of the games but bowlers successfully convinced the organisers to have bowling included and it has been played at the games ever since. Top stars from both indoor and outdoor formats now come together to play lawn bowls at the Commonwealth Games.

One of the largest bowling event organisers today, is the World Bowls Tour (WBT) – a limited company formed in September 1996 by the Professional Bowls Association, and the two major governing bodies for world flat green bowls, World Bowls Ltd and the World Indoor Bowls Council (WIBC).

The primary object of WBT is to set up a series of premier bowls events at which the top players in the world can play.

One of the most exciting competitions in the UK World Bowls Tour calendar is the World Indoor Bowls Championships that take place at Potters Leisure Resort in Hopton, Norfolk. The event has been hosted at Potters for the last eight years (since 1999) and 2007 will see the event take place there once again for the ninth year running.

As on other previous years, 2007 will see professional players come together from throughout the world, to take part in televised matches including singles, pairs and mixed pairs.

The World Indoor Bowls championships take place at Potters Leisure Resort (more details can be found at pottersholidays.com)

Peter Joyner who regularly writes for www.pottersholidays.com

The word “competition” brings to mind images of athletes or sports teams striving to do their best and working hard to accomplish significant goals. For most of us, achieving goals and enjoying life is at least partially dependent on working together and getting along with others. Many of these essential relational skills are learned in the developing years as children move from childhood through adolescence and into adulthood. Given the importance of these key life skills, our society would benefit greatly by ensuring that kids are provided with ample opportunities for working together and getting along with people. Such relational skills can be effectively taught (and caught) in the context of an organized sports program.

It seems that kids are born with an innate sense of competition and a desire to win. Our society, schools, and sports programs all cater to this inclination to compete with various games and challenges. Such challenges have been a part of human society from the beginning, and this competition develops a number of important skills for use throughout life.

As an example, the desire to be the champion and top dog often pushes people further than they would choose to go on their own. This dogged determination to win is what drives Olympic athletes, CEOs, and many leaders to attain to lofty positions. However, the downside of unchecked competition is that negative traits including roughness, a domineering attitude, and unsportsmanlike conduct can develop and can take over a person. Such negative traits can be very harmful, and if not kept in check, can lead to damaged and broken relationships.

This danger for unguided winners to develop poor attitudes is precisely the reason we should encourage children to get involved in team sports programs and other organizations where healthy competition is encouraged and promoted. It is often within these organizations that essential life skills are taught and where the development of proper attitudes can be nurtured.

By participating in organized team sports, kids can begin to truly experience the thrill of winning and the pain and discouragement of defeat. By experiencing these emotions in the context of their sports community, children can begin to understand the roots of their emotions and how their emotions can affect others. In addition, parents and coaches can observe how kids react and can provide encouragement and guidance as needed when and if inappropriate behavior and reactions are observed.

Within the context of an organized sports program, a skilled coach can help and encourage the winners to revel in the victory, and yet do so in a way that does not put down the losers. In fact, if the kids on the winning team can learn how to reach out and encourage kids on the losing team, they have learned an extremely valuable lesson that will serve them well throughout their lives. In the same way, the losers must learn the essential skill of losing well and not withdrawing in self-pity or lashing out at the winners, their teammates, or their coach. Winning and losing are a continual part of life, and developing key skills to cope with victory and loss will go a long way in helping young people cope effectively with the ups and downs of life.

In developing life skills, there is a significant difference between team sports such as basketball, baseball, and soccer and individual sports such as tennis and racquetball. Individual sports typically focus on developing the competitive side of an individual, but organized sports programs can teach so much more. On a team, the children learn to work together to accomplish things that they could never do on their own. In addition, the coach can provide encouragement and direction, and the kids themselves can encourage each other when they are down. On a team, kids can also develop the confidence to try new things that they might otherwise not try. Such an encouraging and supportive environment is rarely found in an individual sport, but can be commonly found on sports teams. Out of necessity, teams learn to work together to accomplish mutual goals and such skills will help carry them through life and work.

In summary, the competition and cooperation that occurs in organized sports programs can be very healthy and helpful for developing essential life skills. In a well-run program, team sports encourage children to work together, encourage one another, and get along with others. A quality and gifted coach can develop these skills in children, and our children would be well-served into adulthood and our society would benefit by having these skills engrained into our children’s character.

To run an effective team sports program, you need a good coach and some great sports equipment. We strive to bring you quality sports equipment for all of your team sports needs at affordable, discount prices. Come visit us at http://www.primosportsandgames.com/sports-equipment and check out our wide selection of gear for various team sports. We are continually adding to our collection, so please check back often if you don’t find what you are looking for.

I love to cook over real fire! Whether on a gas grill, charcoal grill, smoker grill, fire pit or even in my fireplace, cooking with fire is fun and creates unique and delicious aromas and flavors that enhance many foods greatly. But by far my very favorite way to cook is over a real hardwood firewood fire. While good charcoal and smoker cooking can certainly give you some nice char-broiled wood flavors, there is nothing quite like a real wood fire. There is something very primitive and romantic about it, harking back to pre-modern times when food was all cooked over an open wood fire.

Most people do not take advantage of real wood to cook anymore because technology has made things easier for us. Between gas stoves and grills and easy to light charcoal, cooking with fire is quick, easy and pretty much hassle free nowadays. However, there is something to be said for a leisurely afternoon, building a real fire and then using that fire to perfectly cook your grilled meal. Sometimes I don’t want “quick”, “easy” or the bare minimum.

So for all those like-minded grillers out there, those who want to get a little more primitive and a lot more delicious, here are some tips for how to cook with real firewood on your grill, fire pit or even in your fireplace. It takes some time and it take some practice to get right, but I think you will love the results!

Choose Good Hardwoods

At the heart of great wood cooking is good firewood which burns long, hot and gives off savory aromas. Don’t skimp in this department! All of the smoky, grilled flavor that you get in your food comes from your wood so if you use bad wood, your results will be bad. So what is bad? First of all, avoid softwoods in general.

Softwoods burn easily and hot but don’t burn as long and don’t tend to develop long-lasting hot embers at their core. Softwoods, like pine for example, also tend to be fairly resinous and many give off piney or other sharp smells which, while not unpleasant, do not pair well with food. You can use softwoods to help get your fire started, but what you really want for the majority of your firewood is good, seasoned hardwoods.

Hardwoods are denser and will burn longer and hotter. They take longer to get started, but the extra work is worth it. There are dozens of hardwoods that make great fuel for cooking, some of which have very distinct and delicious aromas and flavors. Oak is very common, which gives off a rich, smokey aroma. I prefer fruit and nut woods as they tend to have a milder, almost sweet, aroma. Some excellent choices are almond wood, apple wood, pear wood, and pecan wood, if you can find them. Most people know about mesquite and hickory for smoking, but they are also hardwoods which make excellent fuel. If you happen to live on a vineyard, old grape vine cuttings make great wood for quick fires!

Build Your Fire Ahead

As I mentioned above, starting a hardwood fire can take some time to really get going. In addition, because you want to cook with embers as much as possible, you want to give your fire a chance to burn down as much as possible before you throw food on top. This can take quite a long time and depending on how much you are planning to cook and how big your fire pit or grill is, this can take literally several hours to build the fire, keep feeding it to build up a core of embers, and then let the large flames die down before starting to cook. Of note, while I generally prefer to do this type of wood fire cooking on an outdoor fire pit with a grill grate, most people don’t realize that you can burn a wood fire in most heavy duty charcoal grills as long as it is big enough. I have used the large Weber 22-1/2″ charcoal kettle grills to good effect as well as some Char-Broil charcoal grills.

Cook with Embers

As mentioned above, when cooking with real firewood, cooking over the hot embers is ideal. Why? A new fire, which has just been started does not give off much heat. Additionally, there are large flames coming up from the wood. If you lay a grill grate across this young fire, you will not get much radiant heat and instead will have big open flames lapping up around your food. This spells disaster for grill cooking! Your food will not cook on the inside very fast and the outside will catch fire and get burned to a crisp in no time!

To avoid this and to get the most of your firewood, take your time and start early. Red glowing embers give off tons of heat and don’t have big flames. If cooking in a fire pit or large grill, start your fire early and keep adding wood for a while to build up a deep core of hot, glowing red embers at the bottom. Then let the top wood burn down until you barely have any flames left, just a big, deep pile of red embers. These embers give off a lot of heat and because they don’t have large flames, they are less likely to char your food to a crisp. Only then should you lay your grill grate across and add your food. If you are cooking a lot and the heat starts to die down, stirring the embers with a poker helps to get more oxygen to the wood and will increase the heat for a while. If you really need more fuel, you can add firewood to the side and only push it over, under the cooking area, when it has burned down and no longer has large flames.

Rotisserie Cooking

One way to get a lot out of your wood fire cooking is to use a rotisserie. There are various rotisserie contraptions that can be purchased at grilling and camping supply stores. These are basically a large motorized or hand-turned spit that rotates over your fire pit. This is advantages for several reasons. First of all, for large roasts, such as whole poultry, pigs, and other large roasts, it gives you a very even, consistent cooking heat throughout the meat so that your food stays succulent and evenly done.

Also, for these larger roasts, laying them directly over hot embers can burn the surface long before the interior is even warm. Finally, the rotisserie can hold your food a considerable distance above your wood fire so that you can even cook over open flames without your food burning. If high enough, only the rising heat, not the actual flames, reaches your food, which is perfectly rotated in the aromatic smoke. Therefore, prep time is reduced as you don’t have to burn your wood down to embers first, although some embers help to supply adequate heat. For grilled leg of lamb and whole chicken and game birds, rotisserie cooking over a fire pit is one of my favorites!

Fireplace Cooking

In the winter it is often too cold outside to cook outdoors. However, many of us have a wonderful real wood cooking area right in our homes, although some of us don’t realize it. Most fireplaces are used exclusively for heat and ambiance these days, but years ago it was the primary cooking area in many houses. I love hearth cooking and it is not as difficult as most people think. For most types of fireplace cooking, special equipment is needed. There are fireplace cranes available which hold a handled Dutch oven pot or kettle over your fire to cook stews, soups or coffee. Fireplace grills are available which is basically a grill grate that sits over your firewood grate in the fireplace and allows you to grill any number of foods.

Even fireplace rotisseries are available which sit just in front of the fireplace and slowly turn your roast meats. But if you don’t want to invest in any extra equipment, there is always string-turned fireplace cooking. Traditionally a way to roast a leg of lamb in front of the fire, I have adapted string-turning to roast a number of different types of roasts, from whole poultry to tri-tip. All you need is a long piece of kitchen twine and a screw or hook installed in your mantle above your fireplace. The weight of the roast slowly spins it on the string so that you have a poor man’s rotisserie without a lot of extra equipment!

An Alternative

Finally, if all of the above seems like too much work and too much hassle there are easier alternatives to infuse wood smoke flavor into your food. Using smoking wood chips or chunks in either a barbecue or dedicated smoker grill is an option. Smoker cooking can really give you rich, aromatic smoke flavors in your foods. However, because you are using standard charcoal or gas as a fuel source, you avoid much of the hassle of cooking with real firewood.

I hope these tips help to get you started cooking with real firewood to bring your grill cooking to a new level of fun and flavor. Remember to always be safe when using fire of any type! Follow all basic fire safety rules so that only your food gets cooked!

Josh Dusick is the editor of the Fire Pit and Grilling Guru website at http://www.firepit-and-grilling-guru.com where you can get information about grills, barbecues, fire pits, indoor grills, firewood, charcoal, grill and fire pit cooking, cooking in your fireplace, grill food and wine pairing and even how to build an outdoor fire pit. Take your cooking with fire to the next level!

1. A Difficult Process

Finding good tennis instructors and tennis coaches is difficult. The vast majority are former college or high school players who look reasonably good hitting a ball, but have little actual teaching experience.

Indeed, they’ve seldom studied basic principles of education, read books about proper technique, taken courses in the basic principles of teaching progressions and tennis coaching, or attained certification by either the PTR (Pro Tennis Registry) or USPTA (US Pro Tennis Association).

Always ask your potential Tennis Instructors their NTRP rating, if they are nationally certified (which association and level: low, medium, or high), whether they have ever been ranked highly in the USTA, the number of years they have been teaching professionally, the ages and levels of the students they have taught, the types of locations at which they have taught (year-round indoor centers vs. part-time outdoor summer camps), and which notable authors they have read.

And, while you’re talking to your potential Tennis Coaches, try to gain an understanding of their level of professionalism, dedication, level of maturity, type of personality (personable; gregarious), and their ability to communicate clearly and effectively.

2. Expect RAPID Results

You’re paying good money to take tennis lessons, and you’ve got a right to expect good results soon. If you have difficulty understanding your Tennis Teachers during your tennis lessons and have been progressing slowly, stop crossing your fingers hoping you’ll one day have a magical epiphany and suddenly improve.

Instead, demand results NOW while you’re on-court, and not at some later time. If your Tennis Teachers are truly worth their grain of salt, you’ll start improving with your very first tennis lesson, and will continue to improve with each successive tennis lesson.

A good Tennis Teacher is absolutely worth the price. A poor Tennis Teacher simply waists your time and money.

3. National Certification

While certification does not guarantee a GREAT Tennis Coach, it certainly guarantees a reasonable minimum level of expertise. It’s unfortunate, but the vast majority of Tennis Coaches are unable to measure up to this requirement.

Always ask your potential Tennis Instructors and Tennis Coaches if they are nationally certified, and to which level.

The PTR and the USPTA are the only two well-respected, USTA-sanctioned, certifying bodies in the USA, and both have been certifying Tennis Coaches for almost 35 years. They certify Tennis Instructors to essentially three ascending tennis coaching levels (low; medium; high).

Good Tennis Coaches always work and study hard to periodically retest and elevate their certification to the highest level.

4. NTRP Level

It’s simply impossible for a Tennis Teacher to teach you to do something he/she can not already do him/herself, regardless of what he/she might think or claim.

So, if a Tennis Teacher only has an NTRP of 4.0, he/she can not teach you to play at NTRP 4.5 or higher. If you happen to improve beyond your Tennis Teachers NTRP level, it is solely due to your own abilities, not your Tennis Teacher’s.

Always ask your potential Tennis Teachers their NTRP level. It is ill-advised to settle for a lower NTRP level for the sake of a lower price. You will only get what you paid for, with little or no lasting improvement. Instead, demand a high NTRP level to better assure yourself of more rapid improvement.

5. Ranking in the USTA

While a higher USTA (United States Tennis Association) player ranking is no guarantee of getting good tennis lessons, it certainly does help. Tennis Instructors who have never been ranked, or have never even competed for a USTA ranking, should be avoided.

Always ask your potential Tennis Instructors about their current and/or past rankings: The higher, the better.

6. Years and Kind of Experience

There’s no substitute for experience. But, tennis teaching experience can be gained in a variety of settings. These include year-round indoor and outdoor facilities, as well as outdoor summer-only institutions such as adult and junior camps, recreation department programs, and country clubs. The tennis teaching experience a Tennis Instructor gains at a summer kids’ camp is greatly inferior to that gained at a year-round club. This impacts directly on the quality of your tennis lessons.

Always ask your potential Tennis Instructors exactly where they have gained their experience.

7. Experience Teaching Different

Ages, Levels, and Groups: Different ages and levels require different approaches and techniques when it comes to tennis instruction.

If your potential Tennis Instructor has spent the bulk of his/her time teaching children, he/she will be hard-pressed to provide proper tennis instruction to you as an adult. The skills required to teach privately to a single person are very different and more demanding than teaching a group.

Always ask your potential Tennis Instructors how much time they have spent teaching people of your own age and level, as well as whether they have taught group and private lessons.

8. Expert Knowledge of Proper Technique

Knowledge is critical, and a great Tennis Instructor gains it only from the great effort he/she has made to educate himself/herself. He/she needs to have read a large quantity and variety of tennis instruction books, viewed a sufficient number of instructional videos, and attended many salient courses and workshops on proper stroke technique. There are no short-cuts.

Always ask your potential Tennis Instructor how he/she has gained his/her knowledge.

9. Communication Ability

Regardless of the depth of your Tennis Coach’s knowledge of proper technique, this information is useless if he/she is unable to communicate it to you clearly and concisely.

When you speak with your potential Tennis Instructor, always listen to the manner in which he/she expresses him/herself. If you are unable to clearly understand him/her during your initial discovery process, chances are you will be just as bewildered while on court.

10. Personality

Although Personality is presented here last, it is by no means less important than the other considerations. Indeed, a personable, gregarious, punctual, reliable, mature professional who is also upbeat, encouraging, enthusiastic, and animated makes for a fun time on the court.

When you have your initial conversation to discuss tennis lessons, always remember to look for these inviting traits.

For more information, visit the Tennis Lessons Boston website at http://tennislessonsboston.tripod.com