why Gaming is Good for You

Gaming gets a bad rap at times. Supposedly sitting at the computer or on the couch playing games of wit and strategy means we’re going to be fat, unhealthy and lazy. While this may be true for some, for the gamers in my life, almost the opposite is true. But if your parents complain about the time you spend playing games, you can respond quite diplomatically with some truths about the gaming world.

Strategic Play Stimulates the Brain
When you’re playing something with strategy, your brain is truly reaping the rewards. Just like solving a mystery in a novel, your brain is puzzling away at the twists and turns of your character as your choose the right bride or try to defeat the alliance single-handedly.

If your parents are threatening to ban the Xbox, encourage them to try out some of the more academic games in your mix. Skip the killing machines, but let them experience the kinds of games where you must memorize maps, learn directions and take on quests. Riddles, plans and forming out plans of attack all use parts of the brain that your parent might actually think are lying dormant.

Rapid Play Builds Coordination
Take on one of the Wii sports games and your parents can’t say much about your lack of physical activity or the wasted time in front of the television. Even with a traditional remote, playing something rapidly on screen will help build your hand-eye coordination. Finite movements and tiny adjustments on the screen using remote devices are actually the same techniques heart and brain surgeons are now using, although they work slowly of course.


Catching and throwing items onscreen or flipping and fitting puzzle pieces together helps to build coordination and endurance. Tuning down your gross motor skills into the fine motor skills you need to master most of these games is a physical training of a whole new kind.
 
Active Games Keep You Active
Not surprisingly, if you like to play active games such as the Wii sports games, Dance, Dance Revolution or any of the other myriad of games that make you get up and go, you’re obviously not sitting around anymore. In fact, just five minute of intense electronic dancing is enough to work up a healthy sweat for most people. If Mom and Dad are criticizing your lack of activity, load up the PS3 and let them experience just how lazy you really are with a few rounds of combative dance steps.

Educational Games Can Really Help You Learn
Of course, what is defined as educational can vary, but some games can help you learn things without you actually realizing what’s happening. For example, if you play a game based on famous artwork or set in a historical environment, you’ll learn about those things simply by having a character in that arena. Some game companies are even coming out with trivia and other quiz and learn style programs designed to bring us up to speed on all kinds of topics. Pretty soon your parents might be asking to join you at the controls for a bit of stimulating fun.
 

 

 

The Best Things about Showers

Okay – if you’ve never really thought about taking a shower or a bath, for that matter, you’re moving through life much too quickly. A shower is a special time in the day and it’s actually rather impressive what a nice warm shower can do for you.

A Shower Can Wake You Up
In the mornings, after a night of texting with too little sleep, a hot shower can help you wake up and get ready to face the day. I’ve been known to take a shower in the evening and at night for the same reason when I have a lot of studying to do. It’s funny really that a shower can wake you up so nicely, because my other favorite thing about showers is exactly the opposite.

A Shower Can Relax You
At the end of a long day, I love nothing better than to step into a hot shower and let it wash all of my cares away. I love soaking in a hot bath as well, for the record. The hot shower all of that delicious steam combines with the nice smelly shampoos and soaps to make the ultimate in relaxation. Surely you’ve noticed how much nicer it is to sit and watch television after a hot shower or how you can snuggle down in bed after your shower and just feel as though everything is totally right with the world. It’s delicious.
 

A Shower Can Make You Smell Better

Sometimes we must be practical, and the real reason we all take showers is to get clean. The best way to finish up a hot, stinky work-out is to hop in the shower to rinse off the sweat and dirt so that you’re clean again and ready for the world. While a regular bar of soap will do, I like my shower to be like a mini spa when possible, so I have a nice collection of smelly bath things. I have an assortment of bath gels and loofahs to fit my mood and then, of course, I have the corresponding lotions. All told, I leave the bath smelling a bit like Bath and Body Works at times, but that is just part of the fun.

A Shower Can Make a Nice Excuse
Just think of it. The phone rings, and it’s that annoying girl from class who keeps trying to be your BFF and wants to talk about every single math problem for hours. You have better things to do, obviously, but you don’t want to be rude. So you can tell her that you have to hop in the shower and have a busy evening, and you’ll have to talk to her tomorrow. The shower also works nicely for getting out of hard labor. Just tell someone you’ve just had a shower and you’ll likely be passed over for sweaty yard work and the like.

A Shower Can Be an Escape
We live in a crazy world, and there is a constant stress hovering around many of us. Time in the shower, however, is like a sanctuary. The water washes all, or at least some, of the stress away and leaves you feeling a bit calmer and more at peace with the world around you. Having a bad day? A nice, warm shower likely sounds extremely appealing. I, for one, have been known to cry in the shower where nobody would see or hear my tears, and that emotional release is always very soothing.

Ready to do something else with your hair? Try a new look this summer – some of which don’t require you to even cut your hair.

Cut-Free Bob

You can create a shorter look for yourself by simply tucking it in a certain way. To create the cut-free bob, you’ll need a pack of bobby pins. Start by pinnig up the top section of your hair – ear to ear to get it out of the way. Then, grab one or two inch sections of your hair and fold it up toward your scalp. Pin each section securely until you have all of the longer hair pinned up. Release the top section of your hair and help arrange it to hide the pinned sections underneath. Pin up long ends by rolling them under as well leaving only your shorter layers loose. Spray the creation with hairspray for a fun and flirty new look.

 

Big Bangs
If you have bangs already cut, you’re in business for the next look. If you don’t have bangs, you might still be able to create a similar look using the shorter front sections of your hair near your face. Apply volumizing mousse to wet hair and then allow it to airdry to help create wave. When your hair is dry, gently tease the hair at the top of your head to create even more volume. Gather the front sections of your hair and pull them gently back in line with your ears. The front of your hair should still be nicely full on your head. Fasten the hair you’ve pulled back with a barrette and then use a curling iron to give the rest of the hair left down extra dimension. Finally, use the curling iron to make your bangs high and smooth by running the iron quickly through them from root to tip as you sweep them over to the side.

Big Hair
A completely fun look to try is big – very big. Start by blow drying your hair haphazardly to help it curl and wave. Then, right before it is completely dry, set the hair on hot rollers for twenty minutes. When your hair is finished drying, remove the curlers carefully and finger through the curls to help break them up and make them larger. Use a large brush to smooth out a three inch section of hair directly over your forehead. Pin the hair back tightly with bobby pins or a barrette and then take sections of your wild curls and spray them for volume and hold all the wild scrunching them for a bit of a wilder look.

Bohemian Braids
For an earthly, romantic look, straighten your hair and then separate two sections on either side of your head about two inches back. Pull the rest of your hair into a low bun and pin it in place at the nape of your neck. Braid the two sections up and over your head to create a headband of sorts. Pin the ends of the braids under the bun and use pomade to smooth things down a bit. Straggling pieces and artfully arranged bangs complete the look.
 

 

 

Nail Problems

There is nothing worse than taking off a fun coat of polish and realizing that you now have yellow fingernails. Your formerly pink and white nails are now yellowed and possibly even cracked thanks to your fingernail polish. But yellow nails are just one of the many problems girls face with their hands. Trying to keep your hands at least presentable can be a challenge if you’re faced with nails that break, chip or refuse to grow. And if you bite your nails, you already know what a mess that can make.

A Bad Paint Job

Painting your nails with a red based paint is fun. You look flashy and sexy or just frivolous and free depending on how you handled the paint. But if you’re removing the paint to find those tell-tale yellow spots, you’re not handling the paint job correctly. When you paint your nails, you need to apply a few layers of polish. The first layer is a protective coating – a base coat. A liberal dose of base coat not only smoothes your nail to prepare for the next coat of polish, but it adds a layer of protection to your nail before you apply the actual polish.

The next step is to polish your nail. Use two careful coats of thin polish. Let them dry for a bit and then apply the final top coat. Allow it to dry completely. Leave the polish on for only a week or two before removing it. Allow your nails time to “breathe” between polish jobs, to keep them healthy.

Chipped, Cracked and Broken Nails

Some nails grow long and luxurious without much help. Others seem destined for problems. Working with fragile fingernails can be tricky. One solution is to simply cover them with acrylic nails. Wearing these false nails will look sharp, but can cause additional harm to your fingernails over time. You can help strengthen your fingernails using special sorts of polishes designed to protect the nails. Apply it once every day or two and you’ll be working from the outside to build healthy nails. A diet rich in calcium will help to build your nails from the inside.

Biting Fingernails

If you’re a biter, you already know you need to get the habit under control. There are plenty of tricks people try to stop biting their fingernails. One of the most effective is to brush on a foul tasting (but harmless) special polish. This way, when you put your finger in your mouth, you get a rather nasty surprise taste. If nothing else, it reminds you to pull those fingers out of your mouth immediately.

Other solutions to biting fingernails can include simple fixes such as wearing surgical gloves for a few days, or preferably cotton gloves to let your hands breathe. The gloves will certainly wake you up to what you’re putting in your mouth. Another option is to put something else in your mouth instead. Make it your personal mission for three days to constantly chew gun or chew small coffee straws. Biting fingernails is a fixation and habit – you’re not doing it for taste or flavor. If you have something else you can nibble on, you’re less likely to chew on your nails solving the problem once and for all.

 

6 Reasons to Be Glad You’re Single on Valentine’s Day

If you’re worried about having a guy on Valentine’s Day, I’d advise you to get over it. Sure it’s fun to be a couple and do things that are seemingly romantic, but there are plenty of great reasons to enjoy the month of February single – six of them come easily to mind.

You don’t have to pretend to be romantic. 
Okay, you don’t have to pretend with us, we know you’re not very romantic. Sure, he wants to be your very own Don Juan, and it’s very sweet, but really? You’d just rather chill out at home or listen to music or something. If you have a guy for Valentine’s Day you risk having to play that role or hurting young Romeo’s feelings. If you’re single, you can just do whatever you want.

You can cry and not feel silly.
If you love a great sappy movie, and who doesn’t, you don’t have to be stoic if you’re watching it with your girlfriends or by yourself. Sit down, pull up a box of tissues and blow your heart out at your favorite, most gut-wrenching scenes without a male audience.

You can make fun of lovey-dovey stuff. 
If you’re even a bit like me, it’s much more fun to poke fun at the overly cheesy world of real-world romance than it is to be a part of it. I’d never make fun of another person, but the theory as a whole is fun to mock and destroy.

There are fun parties for Valentine’s Day. 
If you’re single on the big romantic day, all you have to do is find one of the many anti-romance parties around town and have a blast with all of the other single people. If your town isn’t getting into the single mood that night, by all means, take on the role of party organizer and throw a bash yourself.

You don’t have to worry about breaking up and getting together timing.
Why is it that Valentine’s Day seems to be the same time I feel ready to move on from a particular relationship? No matter how much I like a guy, major holidays we celebrate as a couple seem to be the defining moment for me and then I spend weeks miserable if I should break up before the big day or wait until after the big romantic thing he has planned.

You can be truly comfortably romantic. 
If you have to put on a full face of make up and do your hair to watch a pretty movie together, you’re missing out on the true comfort of romance. The best parts of romance are wearing the comfy, if ugly, pajamas, shoving ice cream or popcorn in your face and sighing heavily over how adorable couples in the movies happen to be. The experience certainly loses some of its flair if you’re watching over make-up and trying to take lady-like bites. 

3 Fashion Risks for Short Girls

We all come in different sizes, and even if we wish we could change the size we were handed at the gate, we can’t. I might not be petite in my own right, but I have a short mother and a short sister (not really sure how that happened, actually) and all of my life I’ve heard and experienced the fashion risks that short girls take. If you’re petite, be careful not to take these fashion risks too far.


Don’t Wear Loose Capri Pants
 
Tailored capris can be cute on anyone regardless of height, but the loose fitting linen or cargo style capri pants or even long loose shorts are off limits for my short girlfriends. I’m sorry, but if you picture the shorter pants on, they make two rectangles over your legs because they are loosely fitted. Two rectangles extend down to a narrow ankle. It’s not pretty, unfortunately.


You would do far better to opt for tailored capri pants that follow the shape of your leg. If you wear capri pants, however, be sure to wear a small heel – not flip flops. Capri pants will always shorten your legs, and you want to regain that height as much as possible.

Don’t Wear Big Shoes
 
Little people shouldn’t wear big shoes – especially if you are wearing them with a short skirt or tight jeans. When you’re trying to look your best, you want your legs to look long and slim. To put a giant clunky shoe at the end of your foot doesn’t make your leg look long and thin, it makes it look like a hammer – thin handle, big weight at the bottom. When you’re small, think of graceful items to wear. You can absolutely wear any sort of style shoe you want, but opt away from thick soles and blocky styles. Make your shoes an extension of your leg – not the dead weight at the end.

Avoid Tunics and Long Shirts

If you’re short, you don’t have as much room to play with when it comes to covering up your legs. Long shirts in general will cover up more than half of your body and make you look rather lopsided. If you want to wear a long shirt, look for one that is the same color as your pants and one that has a cinching of some kind around the waist. This will protect your figure at least while the solid colors will let the line of your body continue without a huge break around your thighs leaving only a couple feet of leg sticking out the bottom.

Fashion for Petite Women
 
If you’re petite, which is usually those girls and women under 5 feet 5 inches tall or so, you can find plenty of adorable things in regular stores. But when it’s time to find tailored items or jeans, you would do well to consider the petite sections in the larger department stores. You’ll have to dig past things your mom might wear, but when you realize how much better the pants and dresses fit, you’ll be thrilled to find items that fit comfortably and look great at your exact height.

Why We Forward Jokes

This explains why we forward jokes:

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was
enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that
he was dead.

He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him
had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was
leading them.

After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along
one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a
long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.

When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in
the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that
led to the gate looked like pure gold. He and the dog walked
toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a
desk to one side.

When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me,
where are we?"

"This is Heaven, sir," the man answered.

"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked.

"Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought
right up."

The man gestured, and the gate began to open.

"Can my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in, too?"
the traveler asked.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."

The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the
road and continued the way he had been going with his dog.

After another long walk, and at! the top of another long hill,
he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked
as if it had never been closed. There was no fence.

As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning
against a tree and reading a book.

"Excuse me!" he called to the man. "Do you have any water?"

"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in."

"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog.

"There should be a bowl by the pump."

They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an
old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it.

The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself,
then he gave some to the dog.

When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the
man who was standing by the tree.

"What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.

"This is Heaven," he answered.

"Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "The man down the
road said that was Heaven, too."

"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and
pearly gates? Nope. That's hell."

"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"

"No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would
leave their best friends behind."

Soooo...

Sometimes, we wonder why friends keep forwarding jokes to
us without writing a word.

Maybe this will explain.

When you are very busy, but still want to keep in touch,
guess what you do? You forward jokes.

When you have nothing to say, but still want to keep contact,
you forward jokes.

When you have something to say, but don't know what, and
don't know how, you forward jokes.

Also to let you know that you are still remembered,
you are still important, you are still loved, you are still cared for,
guess what you get?

A forwarded joke.

So, next time if you get a joke, don't think that you've been
sent just another forwarded joke, but that you've been thought
of today and your friend on the other end of your computer
wanted to send you a smile.

You are welcome @ my water bowl anytime

F A M I L Y

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
"Oh excuse me please" was my reply.

He said, "Please excuse me too; I wasn't watching for you."

We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said goodbye.

But at home a different story is told, How we treat our loved ones,
young and old.

Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My son stood beside me very still.

When I turned, I nearly knocked him down. "Move out of the way," I
said with a frown.

He walked away, his little heart broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.

While I lay awake in bed, God's still small voice came to me and
said,

"While dealing with a stranger,
common courtesy you use,
but the family you love, you seem to abuse.

Go and look on the kitchen floor,
You'll find some flowers there by the door.

Those are the flowers he brought for you.
He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.

He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,
you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes."

By this time, I felt very small,
And now my tears began to fall.

I quietly went and knelt by his bed;
"Wake up, little one, wake up," I said.

"Are these the flowers you picked for me?"
He smiled, "I found 'em, out by the tree.

I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.
I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue."

I said, "Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn't have yelled at you that way."
He said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay.
I love you anyway."

I said, "Son, I love you too,
and I do like the flowers, especially the blue."

FAMILY
Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company
that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of
days.
But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of
their lives.

And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more
into work than into our own family, an unwise investment indeed,
don't you think?
So what is behind the story?
Do you know what the word FAMILY means?
FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU

Two Tough Questions

Question 1

If you knew a woman who was pregnant, who had 8 kids already,
three who were deaf, two who were blind, one mentally retarded,
and she had syphilis, would you recommend that she have an abortion?


Read the next question before scrolling down to the answer of
this one.


Question 2

It is time to elect a new world leader, and your vote counts.
Here are the facts about the three leading candidates.

Candidate A
Associates with crooked politicians and consults with
astrologists. He's had two mistresses. He also chain smokes
and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day.

Candidate B
He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used
opium in college and drinks a quart of whiskey every evening.

Candidate C
He is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian, doesn't smoke,
drinks an occasional beer and hasn't had any extramarital
affairs.


Which of these candidates would be your choice?

Decide first, no peeking, and then scroll down for the answer.














Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Candidate B is Winston Churchill.
Candidate C is Adolph Hitler.

And, by the way, the answer to the abortion question:
If you said yes, you just killed Beethoven .

Pretty interesting isn't it?
Makes a person think before judging someone.

an E-mail from God

To: YOU
Date: TODAY
From: GOD
Subject: YOURSELF
Reference: LIFE

This is God. Today I will be handling All of your problems for you.
I do Not need your help. So, have a nice day.

I love you.

P.S.

And, remember...

If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle,
do Not attempt to resolve it yourself !! Kindly put it in the SFGTD
(something for God to do) box. I will get to it in MY TIME.
All situations will be resolved, but in My time, not yours.

Once the matter is placed into the box, do not hold onto it by
worrying about it. Instead, focus on all the wonderful things that
are present in your life now.

If you find yourself stuck in traffic, don't despair. There are people in
this world for whom driving is an unheard of privilege.

Should you have a bad day at work; Think of the man who has
been out of work for years.

Should you despair over a relationship gone bad; Think of the person
who has never known what it's like to love and be loved in return.

Should you grieve the passing of another weekend; Think of the
woman in dire straits, working twelve hours a day, seven days a
week to feed her children.

Should your car break down, leaving you miles away from assistance;
Think of the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take that walk.

Should you notice a new gray hair in the mirror; Think of the cancer
patient in chemo who wishes she had hair to examine.

Should you find yourself at a loss and pondering what is life all about,
asking what is my purpose? Be thankful. There are those who didn't
live long enough to get the opportunity.

Should you find yourself the victim of other people's bitterness,
ignorance, smallness or insecurities; Remember, things could be
worse. You could be one of them!

Should you decide to send this to a friend; Thank you, you may have
touched their life in ways you will never know!

Now, you have a nice day,
God