Flashback for the future....

A very good friend of mine forwarded me a biweekly newsletter today that he had received.

Earlier on this week, we had been talking about the effects of tanning beds (I'm pro, he's against). Just out of curiosity (I'm a woman remember!) I clicked on the link and after reading the concerning article, my attention was drawn to another subject headline "Do what you love : Time is too short to do anything else". The article was actually a commencement speech Steve Jobs, CEO Apple and Pixar Animation had given at Stanford University in 2005.

I was so inspired by what Steve Jobs said that I thought it very appropriate to end this year with a video of this speech. I truly hope you find it just as inspiring as I do.

Have a wonderful New Years eve and see you in 2008!

I'm dreaming of a white christmas......not!

As gorgeous and fairytale-like a white christmas is, I would much, much rather be lying on a tropical beach in the caribbean than sitting in front of a log fire drinking eggnog - wouldn't you?

I presume it's what we're used to. Having lived in a country where the average temperature didn't go below 86°F at night, I longed for a day when I could walk outside without feeling like I had stepped into a sauna. When I moved to the Northern part of Europe, where the winters are wet and cold to very cold, I yearned for the time I had spent in the tropics! Either I'm just spoilt rotten or its a question of thinking that the proverbial grass is always greener on the other side.

Still, I guess that it would be weird to see a christmas tree covered in lights and decorations next to a palm tree, and Santa Claus walking around on the beach.....for most of us anyway!

One could of course do what a friend of mine has planned. He and his son are going ice fishing during the christmas vacation. They have rented a cabin smack next to the lake, so all they have to do is roll out of their thermal sleeping bag, into their winter undies, zip up their eiderdown jackets, cut a hole in the ice and presto - they're fishing. Whether they'll actually catch something is beside the point, it's the experience that counts according to them.

If you have more time to travel or prefer to outdo your friends vacation stories, why not go on an orca whale safari in Scandanavia? http://www.nordicsaga.com/ offers unique adventures, though not for the faint hearted.

As for me, I'll be spending my christmas at home, in front of the log fire, mesmerized by the dancing flames, dreaming about a caribbean beach christmas far away. I wish you ALL a very merry christmas.

How do you know its for real and that he's "the one" ?

When it comes to relationships women seem to go about it in a totally different way than men. We tend to be open and upfront about ourselves, while men seem less likely to let us get a glimpse of why they are who they are.

So how do you know what you can share and can't? There isn't a handbook that you can refer to so that you don't make a mistake. Sure, there are plenty of books written that talk about how to keep your relationship going, or how to rekindle the love in your life. There are also many that have information about how to approach a prospective partner, be it male or female but I have come across few that take a step by step approach on how to be and act with a certain type of person.

You see, that is where the difficulty lies. There are several different types of men, from the player to the introvert, just as there are several types of women, from the quiet to the wild ones, yet we still haven't gotten to a point where we know which type suits which best, if opposites do or do not attract, or whether one should refrain from even trying with a certain person.

Having said that, and having the necessary experience in relationships myself, with which I have learned the hard way, I have come to the conclusion that there is one thing, and one thing only that can be of sound help when coming into contact with the opposite (or same) sex.

Your Intuition.

If you hear the voice inside your head, no matter how quiet, tell you that the person you are talking to is a such and such type, LISTEN!

It may seem foolish and silly but believe me, I've tried this approach and it really does work, each and every time. Not that I wanted to learn this, in fact, I was so stubborn I neglected to listen several times before I understood what was going on, but now each time I meet someone new, I can "sense" what type of person this is, just by listening to my intuition.

You do need to train yourself a little. Even though your intuition has always been there, not many people actually take the time to listen to it, or worse, discard or neglect it thinking that its wrong, and end up getting hurt.

Do yourself a favor, next time your intuition tells you that he's a player, smile at him, give him your sexiest look and then walk away without looking back! You'll save yourself time, energy and possibly money by doing just that.

Don't just take my word for it, try it out, but be honest with yourself and you'll soon find you will only be spending time with the "right" type for you.

Build a professional website in 24 hrs with no technical knowledge at all!

A bold statement, I know.

Nowadays almost everyone is on the internet highway and wants to buy some land in cyberspace. "Online" real estate, in which I mean owning a domain name and hosting a website is big business, as in multi million dollar business!

Unfortunately, due to that same fact, prices, ranging from $670 - $ 5000 that are asked by web designers are not affordable to all. So, several hosting sites now offer their software (when you buy a domainname or buy hostingspace for your website with them) which one can use to "build" their own site with. And thats were it gets difficult.

How do you know that you can understand the way their website building software works? That you don't need to be at least a little bit tech savvy in order to be able to use their software? That it really is as easy as they say it is?

You don't. You usually have to buy in order to try.

And believe me, I have tried. I don't know whether it is because I really no nothing about html or PHP or source codes etc. or that it's because I'm a woman but I just couldn't seem to build my site exactly the way I wanted it to look like.

That is, until I stumbled upon BlueVoda . I was behind my computer once again getting very frustrated that I couldn't make the FTP program thingy work (yeah, I did learn several names of the techincal stuff, but still don't know how to use them) and out of utter desperation typed in easy website builder software in my browser.

The name bluevoda-free website builder came up on my screen and so I clicked on it. What I found was truly mind blowing, in a positive way. With their software program, which you can download for free, and use for free, I was able to design my site exactly the way I wanted it, I even was able to put music on it! To see what I mean, check out http://www.edenandelle.com/

And the best thing is, I don't need to know ANYTHING about programming websites or codes. It's really simple, and best of all, its fun to do. I thoroughly enjoyed building my website, and now add extra pages onto it once in a while just because I can!

BlueVoda has video tutorials with step by step explanations of anything you would like to do, which make it childsplay to understand. And, if there is something which you really can't get the hang of, their support team gives you an efficient and fast answer.

If you would like more information please click on the following link.

www.edenandelle.com/Bvpage.html

I highly recommend you check it out, play around with the website builder, have fun designing your own website and then come back and thank me...I'll be waiting!

Enjoy!

Online Coaching - Coaching with a difference ?

Are you tired of reading about personal coaches who can turn your life around if you pay them enough and follow their step by step coaching program only to find out that they are telling you what you already know and have heard from so many others ?

What if you came across one person who was commited to truly helping you achieve what YOU wanted. Not just telling you what to do to change but actually showing and helping you. Wouldn't you call that coaching with a difference.

We all have dreams and desires yet most of us have no idea of how to attain them. We begin to search for help and come across dozens of personal coaches and courses that all claim to be the ideal one for you.

But how these coaches know what it is you need? That their program is the right one for you. Do they know you? Do they have some kind of physic ability which enables them to understand someone they have never even met?

This is where coaching with a difference is truly different. When a coach is coaching with a difference they don't claim to turn your life around if you work with them or buy one of their courses, simply because they don't know you yet.

Only after a personal call or meeting with you can you know if that certain coach is someone who you can trust and open up to. Only then can you know if the collaboration will give you exactly what it is YOU need.

It is though of great importance that you understand that you are going to be taken out of your comfort zone. A place where many of us have been in for a great number of years. This is why you must have "met" and talked to your coach before beginning a program with them. No one opens up to a person they don't know, especially if it is about issues they have kept bottled up for a long time.

So before you buy or register for any coaching program or course, get the person on the phone, see how you feel while talking to them. If it feels right, then you are on the road to a sometimes rocky but wonderful start of living the life as you truly desire to.

Coaches who teach coaching with a difference will be honored to be your mentor.

Long distance relationships...do they last?

This question was posed to me by a reader of Eden & Elle magazine . She wrote me a letter explaining that she was involved with a man on the other side of the ocean (she's from Utah, he lives in England), one that she had never seen before and was now wondering what the chances of their relationship succeeding was.

They had met several months earlier on a forum, had started mailing with one another, their communication had evolved to calling each other on an almost daily basis. They were now in love and working hard to make their relationship develop and mature.

Since I have moved several times in my life from country to country, and continent to continent, I have had my fair share of leaving behind my (at the time) boyfriend and trying to make a long distance relaitonship work. Of course, I was only a teenager and I don't think you can really compare those relationships to adult mature relationships, but still.

Relationships are already a challenge when the partners are able to see each other on a frequent basis, they get to know each others' flaws as well as their good characteristics. They get to explore each other not only emotionally but physically as well, something which isn't possible in long distance relationships.

Yet, in this cyber age, where people spend so much time behind their computers, it is only logical that they begin to elaborate their efforts in their search for happiness. Not to mention the fact that its easier to talk to someone who can't see you, who you can open up to and tell your deepest darkest secrets to and then with a click of the mouse erase from your life like they never existed if they say something you don't appreciate.

Bottom line is, I think that her relationship has just as much chance to work out as it would when she was dating someone in her hometown. Maybe even more so, as the relationship is built solely on emotional attraction, not physical attraction, so you know for sure that your partner is not in the relationship just for the sex.

U.S.A. Healthcare - The American Dream ?

With the 2008 elections on their way, each candidate has their own strategy to want to improve the health care in the U.S. In a country where almost EVERYTHING is possible and that still draws many migrants, be they legal or illegal to achieve the "American dream", it sure has a bad reputation when it comes to health insurance.

I happened to watch Oprah today, the show was about the movie Michael Moore had made called "Sicko". The movie has caused quite a controversy, not only by its candor but by bringing the many problems that the American health care system has out into the open for all to see and hear. There are 50 million people in the States who aren't insured, that's huge don't you think?

Here in Europe, especially in the Benelux, health care is the same for everyone. Whether you are the son of the garbage disposal man or the son of the C.E.O., you will be treated the same. Of course, we have the opportunity to pay for additional private insurance, but this isn't really necessary, unless you prefer, for example, to have a private room when staying in hospital.

The average we pay annually for health care is +/- €100,00 ($ 130,00) PER family. When we visit a G.P. , we receive an invoice which we deliver to the health care company we CHOSE to be insured with, and we receive approx. 75% back from what we paid the G.P. in the first place. Medicine prescribed by the doctor is also 70% - 90% of what you would pay if you weren't insured. The same applies for specialists (though this may be 65% depending on what he/she is specialized in). Everyone, young and old, has a special card which looks like a credit card. It has the details of the person on the computer chip, and is used whenever we have to enter hospital or buy things at the pharmacy. It basically shows that our medical history is up to date and that we are insured.

You cannot NOT be insured here, that's how easy and fair it is.

There is a difference however, when it comes to being self-employed. The annual payments are higher then, and you have to choose between basic health care and all inclusive health care, but the amount also depends on how much you earn. Yet even then the annual payments are between €750,00 ($900,00)- €1500,00 ($1800,00) per year which I believe is a lot less than the average self-employed American has to pay.

As powerful as the U.S. is, maybe its time they learned from the smaller, somewhat "insignificant" countries on how to truly care about their citizens. To me, there are 50 million reasons for doing so. Let's hope that one of the presidential candidates did their homework and listened to what Michael Moore had to say.