Ideas to Improve and Enliven Your Interior Design

The old saying is "Your home is your castle." It is where you come home from work and relax. It is where you live out the majority of your life. Obviously, it's a very important place, and for it to be as relaxing and as comforting as it should be, the interior design of your home needs to match up to your own tastes, yet be functional as well. Here are some interior design ideas to help your home be more inviting for you.

Many newer homes are using wallpaper on "feature walls" to add some real creativity to the interior design of a home. At one time, feature walls were mostly used in commercial settings to designate certain areas. That same need is not often needed in most homes, but the fact that wallpaper has been added to those feature walls to add more color, textures, and patterns to those structures can allow homeowners to distinguish a certain area of their home without it just being a plain old wall or divider, thereby making it more appealing and practical for homeowners to use feature walls in their homes.

Another interior design idea that more and more people are using is designing your home to allow the most "Chi," or life force, to flow through your home. This interior design idea is known as "Feng Shui" and comes from Chinese culture. It usually involves the specific placement of objects in your home so that they are in harmony with the environment, and supposedly, will help you to achieve more harmony and peace in your life. Someone who is versed in Feng Shui principles can assist you in arranging your interior design to match those principles.

Incorporating color and texture into your interior design is very important in presenting a pleasing and comfortable environment in your home. A good way to get creative ideas is to observe nature carefully and see how certain elements bring out the color or texture of a surface.

For instance, emphasizing one color by putting a lighter color next to it to bring out the contrast between the two colors is one interior design strategy to consider when trying to bring more color and contrast into your rooms. By putting similar items that have different textures near each other in the same room, you can incorporate a subtle design that blends into the room and gives it a different look, feel, and mood.

The lighting in your home is another important aspect of your interior design. Some types of light provide better light for safety and working, other types provide subdued lighting to provide atmosphere and intimacy, while other types provide lighting that is designed to highlight a certain area of your room.

For instance, tungsten bulbs emit a yellowish-white color that tend to brighten warm colors and mute cool colors. These work well in bedrooms, living rooms, and dining areas because they provide atmosphere and coziness.

Conversely, tungsten-halogen bulbs are particularly suited for accent lighting, which is why traffic lights use these type of bulbs - to emphasize the colors red, yellow, and green so you know for sure what you are supposed to do at an intersection. These types of bulbs can provide a nice contrast in warm, ambient settings where tungsten bulbs are often used.

To determine what type of lighting will work best for a room, analyze and determine what the room's purpose will be and what elements are already in it (windows, a fireplace, etc.) By doing this, you can save on time and cost in utilizing the best lighting for your room the first time you install or put in lighting.

Your home can provide great comfort and relaxation to you, but you need to take into account several interior design aspects to get the most enjoyment and function out of your home. These aspects include the placement of objects, feature walls, color and texture and how they compare and contrast with other objects and elements in the room, and the lighting of the room. By taking into consideration these elements, you can create a home that will allow you to unwind and enjoy your home that much more.

Discover Decorating Simple, simple decorating on a budget at DecoratingSimple.com

Your Sun Sign, Moon Sign, and Ascendant Sign - Just What's Going on Here?

The short answer is: Your Sun sign describes your basic ego, your Moon sign describes your emotional inner self, and your Ascendant describes the facade you show the rest of the world.

Want to know more? Read on.

Your Sun Sign

From these three components, an astrologer can develop a thumbnail sketch of your personality -- a recognizable line drawing as opposed to a full-color portrait, but still, clearly, a picture of you. The fact that we have three reference points instead of only one helps explain why not everyone born under the same Zodiac sign is "just alike."

The Sun symbolizes your basic personality. The Zodiac sign it occupies describes your character's essential qualities.. This sign is also usually the easiest to find. It's what you mean when you tell someone "I'm an Aries," or "I'm a Capricorn."

The Sun, by sign and house position, describes your ego's central traits. To an astrologer, your Sun sign describes your core personality. Many say it's the most important sign you have, but that's not entirely true. The Moon and Ascendant signs are just as important -- but they can't be accurately determined without an accurate birthday, place, and time. (The Sun changes signs approximately once a month. The Moon changes signs every 2 1/2 days. And the Ascendant sign changes every 2 hours ... day after day after day.)

Sun sign information alone is "better than nothing," but it's also seriously incomplete. Sun sign forecasts can define what's happening for you on a conscious level and to your self-image, but that's not all you are ... not by a long shot.

Your Moon Sign

In astrology, the Moon symbolizes your inner self, the part of you that responds from habit, feelings, and instinct. If you are a sensitive or emotional person, you may recognize your Moon sign qualities more readily than your Sun sign. These traits are "who you are inside" ... an intimate side of your character only you and those close to you really know. In fact, your Moon sign may be very different from -- or even in conflict with your Sun sign traits. (And there's another reason why people are so complicated!)

Forecasts based on your Moon sign reveal what's happening in your private life, your inner world, with your family situation and living conditions ... and how life's shifting tides could affect your security, foundations, and feelings. Because they target your experiences literally "where you live" you are apt to relate to readings that involve your Moon sign much more directly than those based on your Sun sign alone.

Your Ascendant Sign

Your Ascendant sign is also called your "Rising Sign." The two terms are interchangeable. It is literally the sign that was rising on the Eastern horizon of the sky in the place and at the moment of your birth. Because the Ascendant sign changes every two hours all day long, yours obviously depends on the exact time you were born.

Only if you were born near sunrise will your Ascendant sign (possibly!) be the same as your Sun sign ... and it is completely independent of your Moon sign. Yet this third component in your horoscope gives the most valid information about how you appear to other people ... and how you take on the world.

Your Ascendant describes your temperament, the lens through which you view the world, the personality you put "on public display." It's the side of your character you willingly show the outside world. Changes here explain why even people born on the same day can have very different personalities, different strengths and interests, and different life experiences.

Forecasts based on your Ascendant will be the most descriptive and accurate regarding your life circumstances and immediate future. You will relate to such information very readily ... which makes your Ascendant sign information even more crucial than that based on just your Sun sign.

The three components of your character will provide three different views of you and your life ... all of them valid. And here's another tip: If you know your Moon sign and Ascendant ... and read astrology information for all three (real astrology -- not the "daily horoscope" silliness in the newspaper!), you'll see a much more dimensional picture of your life unfold!

(c) 2001 by Rebecca Brents. All rights reserved.

Rebecca Brents writes on a wide variety of spiritual and new age subjects, including astrology, tarot, feng shui, alternative health, metaphysics, and self-improvement. She publishes the extensive online new age Ezine, The Enchanted Sprite on her website, Enchanted Spirit: http://www.enchantedspirit.org/, and offers numerous online new age lectures and new age classes in these various fields. She also provides astrology readings, tarot readings, and personal consultations through The Enchanted Spirit Metaphysical Source Shop http://www.enchantedspirit.com/. Stop by and subscribe to her free new age ezine, New Age-New Horizons http://www.enchantedspirit.org/Whats_New/.

Choose to Thrive Not Nosedive in 2009

Even though the 6:00 news preaches doom and gloom daily, you don't have to buy into it. There are millions of people in our country that get up and go to work, find new jobs, buy homes, start a family or start new relationships every day of the week. They do not succumb to the prevailing negative attitude espoused by those who would have you believe only they can make it better.

Yes, you may have to work a lot harder to find a new or better job. Yes, you may have to change your appearance and thinking to begin a new relationship or fit into a new employment situation or to deal with all of the changes and challenges facing you. But you can do it by taking control first of your thinking, then your actions and surroundings so you can create the future you want in 2009.

Change Your Thinking

Because we live in extraordinary times, ordinary thinking no longer works. Shift your thoughts to the unusual, unexpected and uncommon. If you are looking for a job and your usual process is to email your resume and it's not working, call the firm or deliver it in person. You might land a brief in-person interview. Post your profile information on free networking sites for the business community like Linkedin.com where recruiters regularly look to find qualified people.

If you are seeking a new relationship or a better relationship with your spouse, evaluate carefully what is important in a relationship. Perhaps it is your outlook and expectations that need to change first before you can focus energy on your desires.

It's important to remember that what you focus energy on is what you will get. Everything you currently have in your life is the direct result of the seeds you've planted over the last several years of your life. If you plant the seeds of doom and gloom in your life that is what you will reap. If you plant the seeds of a good job, more income and better relationships that is what you will reap. If you change your thinking you will change your results.

Take Action

It's one thing to think about creating a better tomorrow but for many it's another thing to do something about it. Nothing will change from the way it is today if you don't act upon your new thoughts. Once you've decided exactly what you want to create in 2009, focus all of your energy on it and make it happen. Engage all of your senses into creating a plan and then act upon your plan to create your future. This puts you in control of tomorrow not the 6:00 predictors of doom and gloom.

It is important to engage your feelings as well as your senses in this process to assist you in creating your objective. Feel the emotions of accomplishment now to help you reach your goal. Visualize it, hear it, smell it. Get a very clear picture of the end result and your subconscious mind will get to work with your conscious mind to help you create it.

Then take action. If it means making 20 phone calls per day then do it. If it means joining some social organization to meet new people, stop talking about it, do it. If it means getting a job through a temp agency so you can find a new job, do it. No idea whether large or small is of any value unless acted upon.

Create Supportive Surroundings

Surround yourself with nurturing and encouraging energy especially when times are financially stressful. There are a number of ways which can help you get through the difficult times while uplifting your spirits to carry on. Follow the Feng Shui principles below to help you take control of your future.

Paint the walls in your home warmer colors in the earth tones family - get rid of the high energy unfriendly cold whites. Peach and salmon are coming back because they nurture relationships, family life and security. Aqua is also coming back because it provides the feeling of a day at the beach with no worries. If you cannot paint the walls or are on a limited budget, use a few accents in these colors such as throws, pillows and pictures to shift your energy.

Use candles abundantly in safe containers throughout your home. They provide soft lighting more reminiscent of calmer and safer times. Even articles from your childhood or that of your parents can be placed with the candles to add warmth and the feeling of safety or comfort. Forget the binge eating of comfort foods - candles work great to provide you nurturing energy.

Create an intentions board out of a simple bulletin board with push pins. Stick onto it pictures, symbols or words of everything you want to create in 2009. If you want to buy a house, stick a picture of a house on it. If you need income, put a $ sign up, maybe even the amount you want to receive. If you want a new or improved relationship, place something there that represents what you want in your future. Hang this board where you will see it morning, noon and night to remind you to stay focused on your objectives and to provide you supportive energy.

By choosing to thrive and not take a nosedive in 2009 you have already placed into action the thought process of taking control of and creating your future. Change your thinking as necessary; don't get locked into the old ways of doing things. Make a plan then take action. Finally protect yourself by creating supportive nurturing energy in your surrounding.

You will be in control of your future, create what you want so you can thrive in 2009, not succumb to the doom and gloom of the news cycles.

Pat Heydlauff, all rights reserved 2009

Pat Heydlauff, president of Energy Design, uses Feng Shui design principles to eliminate chaos and stress at home and within oneself. More than a Feng Shui expert, Pat is a consultant and speaker who helps remove clutter and negativity while encouraging personal growth, improved relationships and prosperity. Her forthcoming book, "Feng Shui: So Easy a Child Can Do It" shows how small changes can lead to a big improvement in one's personal and professional success. For information on her consulting, speaking and artwork, visit: http://www.Energy-by-Design.com

Feng Shui Wealth and Well-Being

We all want to make the most of our western lifestyle. For many of us this means lots of stuff. We seem to buy and buy. Eventually we have so many possessions we have to pack them away. Many people are in a situation of what is called overflow. Another word for overflow is clutter. When there's too much clutter in our homes it looks untidy and disorganized. This will affect our mental and emotional wellbeing. The reason is quite easy to understand. The environment we live in is disordered and unbalances. We end up feeling exactly the same way.

Acquiring much more material goods than we actually need doesn't make any sense at all. We waste money on these items and they take up valuable space. More often than not it makes tidying and cleaning a lot more difficult. If this sounds like your home then consider Feng Shui. Wealth from this practice can be considered as material, psychological and emotional. Some call it good luck.

According to the very ancient Chinese culture your environment has a direct influence on you as an individual. Feng shui wealth and harmony will make your life a lot more enjoyable. If you are a person who finds it hard to be tidy and orderly using the principles of feng shui will be an excellent guide. You will know how to take control of the home you live in. But don't stop there. You can also use these ancient principles at work. Your state of mind will change completely. You will start to feel calmer and balanced. This is because your environment is controlled and balanced in order to create harmony through feng shui. Wealth is one of the benefits. It is believed feng shui attracts positive energy into your surroundings. Get your hands on 'Secrets of Feng Shui' and change your home and your life.

Levi Parker is a Feng Shui expert and the director of popular blog FengShuiGuideOnline.Com. He provides honest information and advice on things like Feng Shui decorating and more. Check out his blog for more info!

Healthy Snacks Will Keep You Pumped Throughout the Day

Portable healthy snacks are the latest trend in the snacking industry. Wrapped stringed cheese, Go-Gurt (portable yogurt), individually packaged vegetable portions with low-fat dip and 100-calorie potato chips or cookies are helping us to eat healthy, even when we feel we have no time to do so. To maintain a healthy weight and reduce our risk for heart disease or cancer, we have to be more mindful of eating a balanced diet packed with nutrients and controlling our calorie count. Luckily, manufacturers are responding to our needs with more products and offerings to help, and blogs are spreading more food snacks tips for packing the best lunch possible.

Do you rarely have time for a pleasant sit-down breakfast? Luckily, there are a number of morning-friendly, healthy food snacks to wake up your metabolism and provide you with the nutrients you need to get a fresh start. For a quick solution, try half a peanut butter sandwich on whole-wheat bread, low-sugar whole-grain granola bars (with at least 3 grams of fiber), 4-6 ounces of low-fat yogurt, some high-fiber cereal with dried fruit or a bowl of instant oatmeal with sliced peaches, if you've got five minutes.

Throughout the day, nothing kills our motivation like a heavy 30-minute lunch. Instead, healthy snacks can keep us pumped throughout the day. Dietitian-recommended options include a handful of unsalted or lightly salted dry-roasted nuts, a single serving pack of unsweetened applesauce with a few dry-roasted walnuts, a small apple with two tablespoons of peanut butter or one ounce of low-fat cheese, half a string cheese with a few pieces of fruit or whole grain crackers or pretzels with low-fat cheese. Raw foods, like vegetables, can be jazzed up with nacho cheese, low-fat ranch or no-fat veggie dip. Lunch snacks manufacturers have been making portable individual packets of carrots, celery, apple slices, nuts, low-fat cheese and other goodies to promote eating healthy.

"Look for snacks that contain protein with healthy carbohydrates and fats, and eat your snacks slowly so they fill you up," advises Baylor nutrition Professor Suzy Weems, PhD. There are many healthy snacks to choose from, so it can be easy to lose track of how our diets are stacking up throughout the day. A free community website, "Sparks People", allows users to enter the food they've eaten during the day into a database, which tallies up protein, calories, fat and other statistics to help keep track of weight loss goals.

Educate yourself further about healthy snacks from Mike Selvon articles portal and download your free audio gift on snack foods.

Home Improvement Tip - Fixing a Squeaky Floor

Question: I have a floor that every single time I step on it I get the most annoying sound. I don't know what it does to me or why it bothers me so much. My kitchen floor squeaks and actually moves up and down if you are standing on it. The whole floor moves. How do I stop it from moving and squeaking. Help Me Greg!

Answer: It sounds like you have a broken floor joist. You are going to have to go under your house. If you have a basement this will be a little easier to fix. It is my guess that you don't have a basement or you would have seen the broken floor joist by now.

Have someone stand on the floor in the spot that squeaks and have them move up and down while you are under the house. Don't have them jump up and down while you are under the house. This could cause more damage to the structural framing of the floor. Once you are in the right position under the floor you can have them start moving slowly. What you are looking for is one of the floor joist that are moving.

If you see one of them moving. Look to see where the damage is. Is it a split, crack, wood rot or a big knot in the wood that has loosened up and fell out. Once you find the damaged floor joist you can now think about repairing it.

If you don't see any floor joist moving. Have the person on top start moving a little bit more and you can even have them jump on it a few times until you see something out of place. If you still don't see any broken floor joist. Start looking at the sub-floor, this will be plywood of some form, 1 x 6 or 2 x 6 materials.

What you are looking for is movement of any kind. Is there a separation or movement between the sub-floor and the floor joist. If you still can't find the problem maybe it is time to call in a professional.

The main thing you are going to be looking for is movement of any kind.

Most squeaky floors are caused from the sub-floor rubbing up and down on a nail. If you have carpeting and you have a squeaky floor you can do your best to locate a floor joist and screw right through your carpeting into the floor joist.

For more help on fixing squeaky floors visit http://gregvan.com/wood_repair.htm

Thanks for the great question. I hope it helps.

Greg Vanden Berge has been in the home building and remodeling business for over 30 years. With this knowledge he has created a few websites that provide useful information for home owners as well as contractors. His main goal is to educate professionals in the home related businesses, dealing with problems that can easily be avoided with just a little bit of information.

His website http://gregvan.com provides all kinds of answers to remodeling and new house building issues that could create major damage as well as possible damage to your pocket book.

Visit us now for Home Improvement Tips

Was Jesus A Good Example

Separating From God

If you quit going to church or your place of worship, would you feel like you are separating your self from the congregation, the people that go to church with you, or do you feel like you would actually be separating from God somehow. I believe some people think that God is actually in the church and if they were to quit going to church, they would actually lose a direct link to God. Most people believe what they are told and follow their leaders.

If you're a Christian, can you answer me this, What Church Did Jesus Belonged to? Was he a Catholic, Protestant, evangelical or some other form of Christianity, maybe, just maybe he believed in a different religion altogether. I often wonder if Jesus was a Buddhist or he learned something magical from the Egyptians. It's said that Jesus traveled to other countries, do you think it's possible that he learned some sort of ancient wisdom from a man or woman, instead of being born God.

Is this how he was able to perform the miracles written about after his death?

Jesus supposedly studied the Torah and was considered to be Jewish, but was he really. While Jesus was studying the Torah, did he gain knowledge and wisdom, or was he actually born knowing everything. How can we actually prove that Jesus knew everything?

Does it say anywhere in the New Testament about going to church on Sunday, when Sabbath is actually Friday evening or Friday at sunset to Saturday at sunset. Have you ever thought about why they switched days. The God from the Old Testament seem to get pretty mad if anyone did anything on the Sabbath, which was Saturday. One person decided that it would be better to go to church on Sunday and now we call it the Lord's Day. What really happened to the Sabbath?

It often gets a little more confusing, the more conscious effort you put into educating yourself about your religion and others throughout the world.

People often assume that I have separated from God somehow and could be going to hell, because I write some of these articles. I'm hoping that you will do a little more research about your religion and find your true North, your true direction in life, what it is you are actually here to do. Don't follow the faithful blindly, follow the intelligence willfully.

Life of Jesus

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development.

Greg is currently working on a self help library filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion.