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I like the fact that you are reading this column. There's a wonderful quote "if you want to plant for a few months plant flowers, if you want to plant for a few years plant trees... and if you want to plant for a lifetime, plant ideas!" With Heart Chakra I constantly endeavour to stimulate your thoughts, offer logical perspectives and change regressive, destructive patterns. It is also a means for me to awaken your relationship from a state of inertia... so many people don't realise that inaction is also action. Just allowing your relationship to exist isn't enough. Boredom, complacency and being in a rut is actually damaging to relationships. It breeds frustration, cynicism, hopelessness and can trigger infidelity, violence and depression. Every human being has in their power the ability to dispel monotony in their lives and it should be made a priority, because you come home to your partner every single day, have children with them and believe it to be your ...

Filed under: Health & Safety: Babies , In The News , Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers , Health & Safety: Big Kids , Health & Safety: Tweens , Health & Safety: Teens This year's immunization guidelines cover a range of conditions such as influenza, pertussis and genital warts. Credit: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images Today, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released the recommended childhood and adolescent immunization schedules for 2011. These schedules are revised each year to reflect new and updated information for the use of vaccines licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration . Published in the February 2011 issue of Pediatrics, there are a number of important changes for infants, children and teens . Here is a summary of some of the most notable revisions: In response to nationwide outbreaks of pertussis, a dose of acellular pertussis vaccine (Tdap) is recommended for children, 7 to 10, who have not been adequately immunized against ...

Filed under: Opinions , Tween Culture Is there anything wrong with a little bit of lip gloss? Illustration by Dori Hartley Forget the Face Paint and Let Kids Be Kids by Amy Hatch When I was in sixth grade, I was pretty tight with two other girls. These girls were more sophisticated than I was at the time, and I remember very distinctly the day that one of them came to school sporting purple eye shadow. She whipped out the compact it came in, and flashed it to me and our other pal under her desk during reading class. Two weeks later found me sobbing my eyes out, my head in my mother's lap, as I wailed out my anger and frustration about not being allowed to wear make-up yet. I was only 12 years old, and it was forbidden. The two girls in question left me in the dust of baby-blue and purple sparkling powder, and I never quite forgot the betrayal. So when I saw that Walmart is marketing a cosmetics line targeted to girls ages 8-12 , I shuddered with horror -- because I can tell you ri...

Filed under: In The News Granted, the segment is called " Mommy Confessions ," but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know it's probably not the smartest thing in the world to appear on "Dr. Phil" with a home video of yourself screaming and berating your kid as you force him into a cold shower and shove hot sauce down his throat. But an Alaskan mother did just that, and was arrested and charged with child abuse today after her appearance on the afternoon talk show, ABC News reports. Jessica Beagley, a 36-year-old mother of six, was charged with misdemeanor child abuse in an Anchorage, Alaska courtroom, according to the network. She was not present at the arraignment, but her attorneys filed a not guilty plea. On the show, which aired in November, Beagley told Dr. Phil McGraw she had trouble disciplining her adopted son Kristoff, 7, who has a twin, Kolya. Her home video brought McGraw's wife, Robin, and audience members to tears, according to the ...

Filed under: In The News , Nutrition: Toddlers & Preschoolers , Nutrition: Big Kids , Nutrition: Tweens , Nutrition: Teens The Agriculture and Health and Human Services departments are telling those 51 and older to reduce daily sodium intake. Credit: Corbis WASHINGTON (AP) - The government is telling half of the U.S. population to drastically cut their daily salt intake. That's the advice to consumers - and the food industry - as the government issues new dietary guidelines, which are the recommendations behind the popular food pyramid. For the first time, the Agriculture and Health and Human Services departments, which issue the guidelines every five years, are telling people who are 51 and older, all African-Americans and anyone suffering from hypertension, diabetes or chronic kidney disease to reduce daily sodium intake to little more than half a teaspoon. That group includes about half of the population and those who are most at risk of having higher blood pressure due to s...

Filed under: Siblings , Expert Advice: Tweens Dear AdviceMama, I was hospitalized for a month after having a new baby girl, and during that time my 11-year-old son, who was looked after by his stepdad (my husband), started getting into trouble at school. Now his grades are also slipping. I'm concerned about how to get him to join into the new baby experience without him getting jealous. He lives on Xbox and I have to threaten him to do anything with us. Please help! Signed, Concerned Mom Dear Concerned, Think of all the things your 11-year-old has had to deal with in the last few weeks: His mother was gone for a month because of a medical condition and he was left in the care of his stepdad. You reappeared with a new little sister to care for while healing from whatever required you to stay in the hospital. And suddenly there was a newborn requiring constant attention, making it easy for him to slip into the background. It's easy to see that your son may be struggling to figure...

Filed under: Giveaways , Food Get a Free Papa John's Pizza if the Super Bowl Goes Into Overtime: Papa John's is offering free large Papa John's Pizzas with up to three toppings if the Super Bowl goes into overtime on Feb. 6. You must register for the Papa John's Rewards Program no later than Feb. 5. to get this freebie. If the Super Bowl does go into overtime, every Papa John's Rewards Program member will receive 25 My Papa Points in their Rewards account, which is enough to get a free three-topping large pizza. Free Maybelline FitMe Sample: Sign up for a free sample of Maybelline FitMe foundation . Free Bottle of Coffee-Mate: On Friday (Feb. 4) at noon EST, Coffee-Mate is giving away 100,000 free bottles of Coffee-Mate on their Facebook Page. Buy One, Get One Free Baskin-Robbins Coupon: Baskin-Robbins hit 2 million fans on Facebook and to celebrate, you can print a Buy One Baskin-Robbins Cone, Get One Free coupon . Send 10 Free Sample Boxes of Quaker Oatmeal...

Filed under: Giveaways Find great deals for kids at Zulily.com. Credit: Zulily Do you want the look of designer children's clothes without the price? Zulily makes it easier to find great pieces for moms, babies and kids at affordable prices with their new members-only daily deals site. Every day, they launch at least eight new sales from favorites like Little Giraffe, Melissa & Doug, Life is Good, Baby Nay and Katie Quinn Organics at up to 70 percent off retail prices. We are giving away four $50 gift cards, so leave a comment telling us what your kid's favorite piece of clothing is! Want to be the first to know about all of our giveaways? Sign up for our newsletter ! GIVEAWAY RULES o. To enter, leave a comment below telling us what your kid's favorite piece of clothing is. o. The comment must be left before 5 pm ET on Friday, February 4, 2011. o. You may enter only once. o. Four winners will be selected in a random drawing. o. Four winners will receive a a gift card t...

Filed under: Activities: Babies , Kids' Games , Activities: Toddlers & Preschoolers , Activities: Big Kids , Activities: Tweens , Activities: Family Time Have my heart. Credit: Getty Images What you need: You need paper hearts, music, and small prizes like candy and stickers. How to play: Before the game, cut out paper hearts. Write a prize on each heart and then fold the hearts in half. Have players stand in a circle and count them out loud, asking each player to remember her number. Give each player a heart. The rules: When the music starts, players will pass their hearts clockwise as the music plays. Pause the music and pull out a number. The player who has that number will open her heart and receive the prize written on the heart. Keep playing the game until you run out of prizes. The winner: All players whose numbers are called are winners. What else you need to know: You can play songs with "heart" in the title to apply to the theme. Related: More Kids...

Filed under: Riddles How could a cowboy ride into town on Friday, stay two days, and ride out on Friday? Click on this link for the answer. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Those of you who did not have a great start to the week should read this - Today is apparently the happiest day of the year. Don't believe it? Here's why: Two weeks after Blue Monday, the day when our spirits are at their lowest because of post-Christmas debt and limited daylight, comes Happy Monday - as good as it's going to get all year, reports the Daily Mail. According to psychologists, a combination of getting the first pay cheque of the year and booking your summer holiday make today the highpoint of the year. "We each experience an average of ten major happy days every year but none is happier than January 31, or Happy Monday," said Dr David Holmes, senior psychologist at Manchester Metropolitan University. "We all go into work on that Monday - January 31 - with renewed vigour, buoyed by the excitement of having money in the bank again and having one of the major family events of the year - the annual summer holiday - to look forward to,"...

Add to My Stories For her new book, The Sex Diaries Project, journalist Arianne Cohen asked hundreds of ordinary British people to record anonymously their intimate sexual thoughts and encounters over one week. From the unrepentant, adulterous husband to the frustrated grandmother desperate to reignite some passion in her marriage, the diaries offer a truly fascinating glimpse into our private lives and longings. Not alone: A grandmother, a cheating family man and a 36-year-old divorcee reveal what they are really thinking about all day long The 52-year-old grandmother from Kent, who yearns for a passionate relationship with herhusband and wishes her daughters partner would put on some clothes. . . FRIDAY 9:23am: Morning diary. Just bumped into my youngest daughters partner Adonis on the landing, wearing nothing but a hand towel and a smile. I swear that boy deliberately flaunts himself to me. 11.45am: From the kitchen I can see my husband of three decades, Sam, in the garden. If on...

Experts have said that the latest 'energy- shots' that seem to have caught everyone's fancy may be nothing but slightly caffeinated, sour-tasting water. They said that the four-dollar a bottle drinks create nothing but a placebo effect. The drink makers are not required to list how much caffeine they contain, nor does the law require them to be FDA approved. "They don't have to prove safety or efficacy, so you have no idea if what it says on the labels is true. You have no idea what you're actually drinking or how much caffeine you're ingesting. It's a crap shoot," the New York Post quoted NYU nutritionist Marion Nestle as saying. A Stacker2 6-Hour Power spokeswoman responded, "Listing the caffeine is not necessary. The energy you receive is not just from caffeine, it comes from the proprietary blend as a whole." Some consumers said that they haven't felt any difference whatsoever from the drinks. "It doesn't do anyt...

January 31, 2011 Workers locally known as dhobiwallahs wash clothes at Dhobi Ghat in Hyderabad. AFP picMUMBAI, Jan 31 At Mumbais open-air Dhobi Ghat, Prem Shankar Kanojia picks up items from a pile of laundry stacked at the side of a concrete washing tank and submerges them in water murky with soap suds and grime.Once the shirts and sheets have been soaked thoroughly, he raises each piece high above his head and smashes it down repeatedly on a large flat stone made smooth by years of pounding.Hard-working dhobiwallahs, or washermen, like Prem have cleaned Mumbais clothes and bedding like this for generations, confident that the dirt and sweat of the city will provide them with a constant livelihood.But like many in Dhobi Ghat, Prem, who followed his father into the business, a life of dunking, thrashing and drying up to 1,000 items of clothing each day for just US$7 (RM21.70), is now not so sure.The problem is that we are not getting enough proper clothes because so many homes have w...

It is two weeks to Valentines Day, so why not use these two weeks to start getting in shape again?In a two week period you need to focus on eating a very lean and healthy diet as well as doing a variety of intensive exercise. Our weekly fitness workout is a good approach, do this for the next 2 weeks.With the weekly workout you do weight training on Monday and Thursday, cardio exercises on Tuesday and Friday, and core training on Saturdays. Wednesdays and Sundays are off days, but if you have the stamina then you can do some light to medium cardio, such as walking, jogging, swimming or cycling. Also a good time to go through yoga asanas.What to eat? Just stick to a healthy and well balanced diet, but make sure that you really are honest with those snacks and calories. Remember, everyone underestimates how much they eat. Also read the10 Scientific Ways To Lose Weight as this provides some simple changes and rules that really do work.If you are looking longer term, then now is a good t...

There's a certain excitement and anticipation about going out on that all important first date with that boy or girl of your dreams. And making that killer first impression takes precedence over everything else. However, it is this very anticipation that can result in one making mistakes that may be cliched, but the one that could possibly end up putting off a potential partner for good. Don't fall prey to making this fatal error. More than anything else, stay calm, don't let the nervousness get the better of you . Here are some things you need to take care of: 1. Don't interview: Yes, you have all those questions in your head that you want to ask your date, but remember, you're on a date. Apart from a few standard questions like those about his/her family, job and hobbies, don't let your date feel like they are facing a firing squad. Some good conversation topics include current affairs, favourite movies, music or books, food and the like. From here you ...

An average woman spends more money on cosmetics than on gym membership or vitamins, statistics have revealed. The average bill for hair products, make-up and fake tan in a bid to look young is $540 while just $360 is spent on healthcare, reports express . The statistics emerged in a study of 3,000 women from age 18 to 65 quizzed on attitudes when faced with choosing between image or health. Nearly 19 per cent admitted to crash-dieting and one in 20 have resorted to laxatives to squeeze into tight-fitting fashions. A worrying three per cent admitted to taking up smoking to shed a few pounds and 14 per cent have turned to diet pills. Four per cent said they had suffered an eating disorder to look their best for a night out. A spokesman for the health group behind the survey, Benenden Healthcare Society, said: "There's a real danger that British women are becoming too focused on what they look like and forgetting to look after their inner health." Follow us on Tw...

Wondering why your last relationship ended on the wrong note? Well, the reason could be your taste in music. A new study has suggested that music actually predicts sexual attraction. The most recent issue of Psychology of Music exmaines the link between identity, music and what makes people ''click''. This had led the LA Weekly blog to explore what it is about why we like, what we like, and perhaps more importantly, how this can make or break a relationship. During adolescence, music becomes a symbol of your identity to help you belong. Research duo North and Hargraves say that music functions as a ''badge'' which people use to not only judge others but at the same time, to express their own ideas. For instance, the child who wants to appear rebellious picks music that seems like it's made by people who rebel. This symbol of identity also helps you strike a balance between belonging but also being original. You do this by liking a genre th...

Is anger a man thing? Be it Indian diplomat Anil Verma in London, who beat up his wife over a Christmas tree scuffle, or the pilot who drove his car over the restaurant manager in Delhi's posh Khan Market after a heated road rage incident. Increasingly, we hear incidents of road rage, physical abuse or destruction of objects as commonly witnessed expressions of angry men. The big question is: Are men more prone to violence? According to Science Daily, the answer is: Yes. Historically, all warriors have been male. Most interpersonal violent crimes have been done by men. Statistics reveal that 90 per cent of murderers and 82 per cent of other violent criminals are male. Says IT consultant Suresh Shivaram, "Anger is a personal trait. For instance, if I'm driving, following all the traffic rules, and the person in front of me isn't, it makes me angry. Anger is a burst of emotions." Scratch the surface of some suave, sophisticated guys and you see seething, simme...

Add to My Stories Her own woman: Bosnian refugee Diana Jenkins is determined to be known for her successes rather than her husband's He is known as the man who saved Barclays, one of Britains richest bankers with a 300 million fortune. She is the beautiful Bosnian refugee who counts George Clooney and Guy Ritchie as close friends. So when it came to light yesterday that Roger Jenkins had separated from Diana, his wife of ten years and mother of his two children, it was assumed this would follow the pattern of other high-profile divorce cases; that there would be public recriminations and an ugly court battle over the family fortune. But last night, in an exclusive interview with The Mail on Sunday, Roger, a softly spoken and rather private financial genius, said: Will she take half my money? Of course. And quite rightly so. I will happily give it to her. You have to have a degree of integrity and ethics in a situation like this. Diana and I had a wonderful marriage for ten years. ...

TV sportscaster Gili Shem Tov (centre) and professional dancer Dorit Milman, first same-sex couple in Israel's Dancing, Jerusalem November 2, 2010. — Reuters pic NEW YORK, Jan 28 — Half of men would forgive their female partner’s infidelity, as long as it was with another woman, according to a new study on cheating. Women, however, were less likely to forgive and forget if their boyfriend had been with another man, the University of Texas at Austin study showed. Researchers asked 718 college students to imagine being in a long-term relationship and what their reactions would be to several different cheating scenarios. They found that overall, 50 per cent of men would likely continue a relationship with a woman who had a dalliance with another woman, while 22 per cent said they could forgive betrayal with another man. For women, the results were reversed. If their boyfriend cheated with another woman, 28 per cent said they’d keep him around, but only 21 per cent said they would if h...

Vocalist Kang Mao of Chinese rock band “SUBS” is lifted by the crowd during the InMusic Festival in Zhangbei, Hebei province July 30, 2010. — Reuters pic BEIJING, Jan 28 — The Chinese Year of the Rabbit promises to bring political upheaval from restless youth and sex scandals for the amorous, but in China the government is at least likely to bring inflation under control. Twelve animals make up the traditional Chinese zodiac, with each year having its own peculiar and unique beliefs, some specific to certain provinces, such as being an auspicious time to give birth or open a new business. The rabbit is believed to be one of the happiest signs, with people born in that year renowned for their kindness, reliability and loyalty, though with an air of mystery and propensity to cry. “The Rabbit represents mid-spring when trees and plants are prospering,” said Raymond Lo, a Hong Kong-based feng shui master. “It represents youth, motion and activity and so it will be an energetic year with ne...

Add to My Stories After years struggling with the way she looks, former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell is at last happy in her own skin flaunting her curves in her new high-street swimwear collection. Here she talks to Liz Jones about body image, mellow motherhood, the rich legacy (and A-list fans) of the Spice Girls and finding love 'I met Henry on a beach. I was in a bikini. Swimwear! It does work,' says Geri I've seen remarkably few celebrities naked. But I have seen Geri Halliwell in just her knickers. It was ten years ago, we were on a magazine cover shoot in Los Angeles, and Geri was trying to decide what to put on. I remember she was as small as a ten-year-old. This was during Geris super-aerobicised, super-Ashtanga-yogafied period. She had requested only vegetables and brown rice on the shoot. She seemed tense, lonely and, despite the nakedness, terribly unhappy in her own skin. What a difference a decade makes. I meet Geri again in her lovely home in Highgate, Nort...