What They Would Do If They Won the Lottery

Chapter 1

When I heard the news, my heart nearly stopped. I had to repeat the numbers over and over: 8, 15, 22, 26, 31. The numbers on the television were the exact same numbers on my lottery ticket that I bought by chance the night before. Somehow, the planets had aligned just right, and I had won $45,000,000.

I was only eighteen years old when it happened. I don’t know what I expected, but life didn’t change instantaneously. The seconds still clicked by at the same rate and I still woke up with a headache every morning. They say money can’t solve your problems, but I disagree. As soon as the lottery mushroomed before me, my dreams that were hindered by a lack of funds began to unfold. With my priorities straight, my first expense would be paying for six years of college at $22,000 a year, adding up to roughly a grand total of a mere $132,000 for my degree in speech-language pathology. With the money that remained, however, a fire would start in me that wouldn’t be extinguished until I was broke.

I invested in foreclosures, and when the housing market began to boom once more, it began raining profits. A glistening new car whose ability to preserve its fuel to replace my gas guzzling pickup could be found parked in my driveway, and a down payment on a quaint house was able to be easily mustered. Somehow, in the end, I still had funds left over. At twenty-six years old, I still found myself a millionaire. I invested, monitored, and maintained my funds, all while gaining my degree. Despite my fiscal competency, I was still alone. Come Christmas time, even though I had the money to purchase anything I wanted for myself, I couldn’t think of any material thing that I’d like. The truth is, as you get older, you want less and less for the holidays, because the things you want can’t be bought. In summary, money changes you, and it definitely makes life easier, but in the end, it won’t be enough to make you happy. Happiness comes from within.

Chapter 2

It wasn’t even the crack of dawn when I was roused from my sleep, by the same sound that I came to hate over the course of the last week. It wasn’t the howling winter winds or the bed springs creaking as the kids jumped up and down on my bed. Those I had grown accustomed to and tolerated. Instead it was the sound of the phone ringing at six in the morning.

Last week I hit the jackpot playing the lottery, forty five million dollars. More than enough to start a new life, even after taxes took more than half of it. It should have been a joyous occasion, but the moment my name came up on the television as the winner, the calls started. The phone stopped ringing for a moment when the call failed to get through. Silence was returned to me and I basked in it, allowing my body to fall into the abyss of dreams once more. But, before sleep could take me again, the phone rang and showed me there was no end until I replied.

I forced my tired body to move, ignoring its complaints, and answered. It was another distant relative on my mother’s side that I hadn’t even known about, the tenth one this week. I told them they had the wrong number and hung up, before disconnecting my phone so that the vultures could stop pecking at me for scraps. But now I was unable to get to sleep again and ended up going to get breakfast ready slightly prematurely. The apartment we lived in now was rather small, but it was homely and I had grown to love it over the years. It was a shame to have to leave it, but I really wanted to give my kids a better life. That was why I gambled on winning the lottery and was pleased when I did.

Just looking at the simple breakfast I was making over the stove and knowing that we didn’t have to scrimp by now was a relief. I could pay off all our debts and give the kids what they wanted for Christmas for once. No more ignoring calls or changing the numbers to stave off the debt companies.

And then I could give back to all those who helped us to this point. Friends and neighbors who kept us afloat and in decent company could now have the favor returned. It was only fair. I could donate to a Toys-for-Charity drive so that other kids would be able get what they wanted for Christmas too.

But that was all the immediate uses for it. What was I going to do with what was leftover? Too many stories could be found about people who won big and were left with nothing in the end. I didn’t want to end up like that.

Breakfast was ready when I heard the pitter-patter of four feet traversing the cold tile floor and the boys came into view. Using their bed sheets to keep warm by wrapping it around their bodies, they both sat at the table and greeted me with warm and innocent smiles. They had no idea the hardships we were in, at least not enough to know how far in debt we were, and I hadn’t told them about winning the lottery either—but now things were different.

You can read the rest of this story from any of the major book sellers, or also at http://www.vincestead.com or http://www.fun2readbooks.com You can also listen to it in Audio.

Children's Safety and What You Should Know

1. Children’s Safety: The Importance of Having a Fence Around Your Pool

Discover the importance of fencing in your pool when you have children around, either your own, or your neighborhood kids.

People have different hobbies. Some people prefer games while others like swimming for leisure or for competition purposes. In this case, some families have swimming pools within their backyards to make their life complete. The pool can be hazardous if necessary precautions are not taken into consideration. This implies that before deciding to have a pool in your yard, there are certain things that you should put into consideration so that no one gets hurt or worse, even killed from drowning. If you don’t have a fence put up around your pool, anyone could fall in, even a curious small child from another yard, they could easily end up in your pool with no fence to protect them.

When you have children, the pool becomes a very risky place for them. Kids are known to play around and do not take things seriously. This is quite normal for any growing kids. In this case, even warning them not to go near such places will not be enough. The best way to control them is by having a fence around the pool then ensuring that the gate is locked at all times.

Some children think that by swimming two or three times, they have become champions and professional swimmers. Such kids may drown in such water and lose their lives. It is important to get someone to train them first in swimming. Swimming lessons are very crucial and should not just be taken for granted. You should not allow them to go near the pool because they may decide to compete or one may just accidentally push his or her fellow friend into the pool and no one may be around to help them get out safely, therefore having your worst nightmare come true.

In this case, parents who love swimming and would want a pool in their backyard have to be very careful. The key for such amenities must be kept away from children at all times, the gate should be locked because that is how they might get in also without you being there. The parents should be the last people to leave the pool. This will help in avoiding such hazards. There are certain precautions that even experienced swimmers are supposed to take into consideration. For instance, intoxicated people must not move closer to the pool. Such people are likely to fall in and get drowned. At least two people going to the swimming pool can be the best advice for adults.

If the pool is nicely fenced, then such issues will be prevented before they occur. Apart from keeping away the children, other animals that may crawl into the pool are also avoided. The fencing should be tight enough not to allow any intruder such as reptiles into your pool. This may poison the water. Children who are interested in swimming must go for the necessary swimming lessons to make them perfect. If these facilities are not well maintained, someone could get seriously hurt, so make sure you have a fence around your pool, and keep the gate locked when not in use.

2. Playing With an Oven Can be Bad

There is no doubt about the fact that the microwave oven is a very useful invention, which has revolutionized cooking making it quicker, effective, and delicious. The working principle of a microwave oven is that the food items contain water which readily absorb the wave energy and convert it into heat to cook food rapidly.

It is very simple to operate a microwave oven but one should never put aside the safety precautions. It is observed that people generally overtime tend to ignore the safety precautions and become careless by handling ovens very casually. Watch out as this may cause serious or fatal accidents. There are many burnings and death cases reported where the cause was improper handling of microwave ovens and cooking range ovens.

How Safe an Oven Is:

You need not worry about using a microwave oven as long as you study and learn the manufacturers' instructions and handle the unit accordingly as advised. Microwave ovens are made by meeting all the safety regulations in order to conveniently heat and cook a variety of food items. However, while handling the oven you need to take some precautions to avoid potential exposure to the radio-frequency waves and thermal burns.

The microwave ovens are designed to make sure that the microwaves it releases are contained inside an oven and can only be activated when the unit is switched on with the door shut to prevent exposure. However, it is also possible that microwave leakage may occur due to some damage or malfunctioning of the oven. This makes it important to maintain your oven in a good and clean state. One should always make sure that the door is getting shut properly and the door seals are kept clean. Do not switch on the oven if you find any damage to the exterior or interior surface of it. Without wasting time you should get it repaired by an authorized service provider.

Handling Gas:

Gas is an important entity in cooking which surely helps out the homemakers in a big way to make their tasks easier. However, you have to carefully handle the gas stove and the hood. Always make sure that you keep it clean and do frequently check for any leaks or damages to the pipes. Be well-informed about the safety precautions and immediately execute it if you suspect a gas leakage inside your home. Don’t do any repairs on your own, instead you should get your cooking gas range serviced by only experts, your family’s life may depend on it.

The Possible Threats:

On getting exposed, microwaves may get absorbed by our body tissues and can produce excessive heat. The human body parts such as the eyes are more susceptible to heat damage. The burn injuries can also be due to handling very hot items cooked in microwave ovens. You need to understand that microwave heating is done in a different manner than the conventional oven heating. For example, while boiling water in a conventional cooking stove, there will be bubbles which allow the steam to escape as the water gets boiled. However, in case of a microwave oven, no bubbles are formed which superheats the water bringing it to boil instantly. There are cases when people get severely burned with super-heated water due to careless handling.

Some safety precautions to be taken in order to avoid any lethality while using microwave oven are:

• Don’t switch on an oven with a damaged door.

• Use only microwave-safe special plastic cookware in the oven.

• Pierce food items (potatoes, tomatoes, egg yolks etc.) which will avoid steam built-up inside the oven.

• Always remember to wear microwave oven gloves.

• Don’t use a microwave to sterilize bottles or plates.

• Always keep the user manual of your microwave oven handy to refer to.

• More importantly, educate your children about microwave safety and caution them not to play with it.

You can read the rest of this story from any of the major book sellers, or also at http://www.vincestead.com or http://www.fun2readbooks.com You can also listen to it in Audio.

HOW TO GET EVEN AND REVENGE WITH PRANKS ON ANYONE!

This book will give you some help on getting even with a bad neighbor, or mean boss, or business that did you wrong. Even an ex-lover or anyone else that did you wrong!

In this book, you will find many ways to get even or revenge on someone, and the best revenge, is when they do not know it came from you!

Try not to break any laws, and the best revenge is always forgiveness, but if you don’t have that in your heart, and you want and eye for any eye, then read on!

1. Garage Sale Prank: You can place an ad in the classified section of your local newspaper advertising a Hugh Garage Sale, and then listing the address of your victim. Advertise televisions, computers, classic cars, antiques, etc. Sale begins at 6:00 a.m. all items are in the backyard, just come around back and come early!

2. X-rays at Airports: Purchase a large adult bedroom sex toy. Wrap it in a large amount of aluminum tin foil. Secretly hide it in a piece of the victims carry on luggage. As it goes through the airport x-ray machine the contents of the device will be shielded by the tin foil and will be unwrapped and inspected by airport security officials. An absolute fun prank to pull on your enemy!

3. Oil Spot: At night pour used motor oil underneath the victim's car while parked in the driveway. Pour enough that will be alarming. Continue to do this each night. The subject will spend great deals of money trying to get the oil leak repaired time and time again. I have even heard of a person buying a new car after the repeated attempts at repair. Imagine their surprise and frustration when that new car starts leaking too!

4. Flat Tire: This is very similar to the Oil Spot, but with a twist. Let most of the air out of one of your victim's tires. Keep doing this each night, and watch as they call a tow truck or the Automobile Club day after day. Odd how those new tires keep losing air, too!

5. Paper Money: Write a sexually oriented solicitation message, victim's name and phone number (inviting a phone call) on the edge of several pieces of paper money before spending them. The victim will receive many eye popping inquiries. You would be surprised at what a whole handful of them would do to your target!

You can read the rest of this story from any of the major book sellers, or also at http://www.vincestead.com or http://www.fun2readbooks.com You can also listen to it in Audio.

Best Ways to Find a New Lover!

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

What Was the Best Vacation You Ever Had?

1. New Story

The best holiday I had was a week in a holiday called Butlins/ My sister was taking her two young daughters and wanted me to give them a lift as she had no car, it was quite a long drive so when we got there my sister said I should stay the night in the spare bed. I stayed that night and in the morning we went down for breakfast and the staff said it was for two children and one adult, my sister said there must be a mistake as it was supposed to be for two children and two adults, they just accepted that so I got a free breakfast.

That day I stayed longer than I had meant to as we were having fun, so at dinner time I went with my sister to the restaurant and got a free meal again. This was great so I stayed another night. We went to the pub and watched some live shows and a couple of comedians.

I ended up staying for the whole week and half way through my sisters friend came down so the three of us had some real good fun, dancing, drinking and we also made a “pop” video which was a laugh.

The thing that made this holiday so good was the fact it was not planed, well not for me, I didn’t even have a change of clothes or any money so I had a weeks holiday for nothing, saw some famous acts and had a really good time, I don’t think that could ever be beat as it was just a spontaneous week.

2. New Story

What a Fun Experience!

There’s this hidden paradise resort somewhere in our hometown and it’s called Oh La La Spring Resort. To get there, you need to pass through the thick terrain of lahar paths and giant slates and boulders that were created by the majestic Mayon Volcano. The lahar paths were all made of dark black and gray deposits that Mayon had spewed. It isn’t that secluded at all since there are small communities in this area, but because of the brush, the greens and the fields, you will definitely feel that you are out of the bustling city.

The Mayon Volcano is generally a spectacle already. It stands just in the center of everything, towering over like a true royalty. On clear days, it appears a deep blue and the crevices and the deep canals are wonderfully visible, appearing as if you can already touch it. On cloudy days, the royal queen would just clad herself with white cotton sheets, hiding away from all prying eyes.

In addition to that, the hidden resort is just as awesome. There were gardens of flowers and dangling vines everywhere. The breeze is basically cool and damp and the splashes on the pool waters just make you want to dive already. But what is more fun is that I was in the company of my twenty friends, and with twenty companions you can never get bored.

There were available cottages to rent and our company rented the largest one. It stands beside the clear pool and also the chain fence. Just on the other side of the fence you will see a wide array of vegetation. There were thick Mahogany trees, brushes, wild flowers and vines all thriving in the shoulders of a creek. Not far is a yellow green rice field, a cute brown nipa hut and a sunbathing carabao chewing cud in its mudhole. If you look close enough, you will see tiny maya birds just roosting on its horns.

As for food, we had plenty of Filipino cuisine. Adobo, fried kangkong, steamed tilapia, palabok, igado, malagkit and the staple rice! We also have on our table fresh lumpia and Shanghai rolls, a lot of fruits including rambutan and bananas. A friend also brought a homemade lambanog, a potent Coconut alcohol which is really fiery in the throat.

You can never get enough of the sun in the Philippines because it’s an ever present omnipotent element. But, one thing to consider is that days here are never the same. You might wake up hearing the morning birds chirping outside and the sun basking its glow in your window, but after a few hours or so, the rain clouds would just roll by. Weather here is unpredictable, but it’s totally fun because as we were swimming on the cool pool under the bright sun, all of a sudden the elements exchanged roles. The rain poured and we went swimming on a warm pool under the grey sky.

We had a lot of fun in the pool. The thing about my friends and I is that we will always be children in our hearts. Despite living different lives as pre adolescents, we still find time to regroup and recollect. And these events will always bring out the children spirits inside us. The laughs and the giggles, that’s absolutely what knits us together.

You can read the rest of this story from any of the major book sellers, or also at http://www.vincestead.com or http://www.fun2readbooks.com You can also listen to it in Audio.

The Tree That Wood Be: Emotions (Book 2)

Scarlet Learns About Emotions

"Ugh!!" Scarlet tweeted in frustration at her top hat nest.

"What is wrong Scarlet?" Ashby asked her.

"This straw will not stay where it is supposed to stay! It is so frustrating!" Scarlet tweeted loudly.

"You sound really frustrated. Maybe you should calm down and rest a little, then try it again." Ashby said calmly. "We don't need your emotions getting out of control, now."

"Emotions?" Scarlet asked. “What are emotions?”

"Yes, emotions." Ashby answered and continued, "Your feeling of frustration is an emotion. Different people feel different emotions at all times. Whether it's calm and relaxed, happy, sad, angry, etc… like right now you are feeling frustrated. That is called an emotion and we deal with them every day of our lives... good and bad."

"Really?" Scarlet tweeted, still having her feathers ruffled. "Tell me more about emotions Ashby."

"Well, emotions and feelings, which they are often called sometimes as well, function on so many different levels. They can cause us to be sick in some instances where our emotions are unmanageable and we can't calm ourselves down. Have you ever been so upset that your tummy was hurting?" Ashby asked Scarlet.

"Oh yes. In fact, when I first left my nest as a baby bird, I was so scared that I couldn't eat for a whole day!" Scarlet tweeted. "My tummy was nervous and upset."

"Exactly. Nervous and scared are common emotions. Our emotions can take over our lives if we don't get control of them. But, they are our most reliable source of how things are going on in our lives and it is also a way to tell how things are going on in other people’s lives too. Like yours, for instance. I knew that you were frustrated about something, but I didn’t know what, until I had asked you."

"Wow Ashby, our emotions can take over our lives if we are not careful!" Scarlet tweeted.

"You are correct Scarlet," Ashby continued, "If you hold your emotions inside of you, it can cause physical problems, such as an upset tummy, as you had experienced before. Emotions can affect our body physically as much as it affects our thinking and feelings. Emotions need to be felt and then released. Especially negative ones. Some people keep their negative emotions inside of them and then when they become too overwhelming, it's even worse than before when they are finally released."

“Ahhh!! This straw is making me mad now!”

Scarlet tweeted loudly.

"Nonsense, Scarlet, that straw isn't making you anything. You are making yourself frustrated and angry. You are the only one who can change what you feel. You are letting that straw control you." Ashby scolded Scarlet. "Take a deep breath, gain control of yourself and I am sure you will figure out what is wrong with the straw and why it isn't working the way you want it to."

Scarlet did just as Ashby told her. She closed her little eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened her eyes. She looked at the straw and finally realized why it wasn’t working the way she wanted it to.

“You’re right Ashby!” Scarlet tweeted happily. “I see what the problem was!”

“Now you are expressing a feeling of happiness. Such a big change than before, isn’t it Scarlet?” Ashby laughed.

Scarlet giggled, “Yes, I supposed Ashby.”

"See? Our emotions directly effect how our bodies work. Even though it is hard to control our emotions at times, sometimes, when we do control them, we can look at the problem a different way and then find a solution, once we are thinking straight and rationally."

"Ashby, you are so smart!" Scarlet tweeted. "There, now the straw is working in perfectly!"

Timmy Loses Max

On a cloudy Saturday afternoon, Timmy was sitting under Ashby on a blanket. Timmy was looking very sad. Ashby could tell he had been crying.

“What’s wrong Timmy?” Ashby asked.

“Yesterday, I came home from school and I was always used to Max meeting me at the door. He would lick my face and I would pet him every time I came home.” Timmy sniffed and continued, “Yesterday, he didn’t meet me at the door. My mom said Max got very sick and she had to take him to the vet. Max was old, I know, but he was my best friend in the whole wide world. My mom said the vet said that Max was going to die and that my mom should say her goodbye to him.” Timmy started crying again. “I never got to say goodbye to Max. My mom said she said goodbye for me, but I never got to tell him that I loved him one more time.” Timmy began crying more.

“Oh, I am so sorry to hear that Timmy.” Ashby said comforting Timmy. “I am sure he knew you loved him very much.”

Scarlet flew down from her nest and stood on the blanket next to Timmy and said, “Timmy, I am so sorry to hear about your dog Max dying. I remember seeing him playing in the meadow and chasing the ball you used to throw to him.”

You can read the rest of this story from any of the major book sellers, or also at http://www.vincestead.com or http://www.fun2readbooks.com You can also listen to it in Audio.

The Tree That Wood Be: Nature’s Remedies (Book 1)

Meet Ashby and Scarlet

Once upon a time there was a tree named Ashby that lived in a meadow with eyes as blue as the sky and a nest top hat that his best friend Scarlet lived in.

Ashby started out as a small apple seed and had grown into a large apple tree that gave the largest and sweetest from any of the other apple trees in the meadow.

Scarlet was as red as the apples on Ashby's branches, with a crown of red feathers on top of her head and rose colored glasses, because through her eyes, her world was a beautiful place to live in.

Ashby and Scarlet had been best friends for quite some time and their friendship meant a lot to each other. They could talk about anything to each other and they did every day.

Ashby's apples and shade from his large branches attracted the children from the nearby town to come and picnic under Ashby. The apples were too high for the children to pick, so sometimes Ashby would release a few apples for the children, by shaking his ranches, to eat and enjoy. Scarlet also loved eating Ashby’s apples and the big fat juicy worms that often decided to enjoy them too, after they had fallen onto the ground or were rotting on the ground. There was plenty of food for everyone!

Scarlet had once been a lost little bird that had left her nest when she was just a little tiny bird. One day she had taken a rest on Ashby’s branch.

“Hello there.” Ashby had greeted her; “I’ve never seen you around here before.”

“Hello,” Scarlet greeted back, out of breath from flying so much. “My name is Scarlet. Do you mind if I take a break from flying and rest on your branch?” Scarlet asked.

“Feel free to.” Ashby smiled. “My name is Ashby. Would you like to enjoy one of my fresh apples or would you like a rotten apple with a big fat juicy worm?”

“Nice to meet you Ashby. Oh I would love to have a big fat juicy worm. I am so hungry!” Scarlet exclaimed.

“There has been a worm living in this rotten apple over here.” Ashby shook one his branches. “He’s been eating the apple from the inside out and getting fatter by the day.”

Scarlet flew down to the rotten apple and found the big fat juicy worm. He was a fat worm too, just like Ashby had told her. After feasting on the big fat juicy worm, Scarlet thanked Ashby.

“That was a delicious worm, but I shall be on my way now.” Scarlet told Ashby.

“Do you have a home Scarlet?” Ashby asked.

Scarlet thought for a moment. All she had been doing was flying from tree to tree to rest. She hadn’t found a permanent home yet. “No, I don’t have a home.”

“Would you like to live here with me?” Ashby asked.

Scarlet looked around and said, “I would love to!”

Scarlet immediately began building a nest and soon, the nest was finished. The nest was on top of Ashby’s head and looked just like a straw top hat!

“Well now, that is the finest looking nest I have ever seen before!” Ashby shouted up to Scarlet.

“It is isn’t it?” Scarlet smiled and said, very pleased with herself. “I think I will go inside and take a nap.” Then she paused, “Well, after I eat a big fat juicy worm first.” Scarlet and Ashby both laughed.

Timmy Gets Sunburn and Discovers the Aloe Plant

One day, there were three children picnicking under Ashby. Their names were Nick, Timmy and Eric. The sun was so bright that day that Timmy soon became red with sunburn because he forgot to wear sun block.

Ashby noticed that Timmy was crying and asked him what was wrong.

“My skin is burning and it hurts and I can’t go and play with Nick and Eric.” He answered Ashby as he cried.

Ashby then thought for a moment. Scarlet had overhead Timmy and said, “I know just the remedy!”

Timmy asked Ashby what does remedy mean.

“A remedy is something that will make it feel better, so it won’t hurt so much.” Ashby explained to Timmy.

“Oh!” Timmy explaimed, “That would be perfect!”

Scarlet flew over to the nearby Aloe plant named Al and asked Al, "Hello Al, can I pick some of your aloe leaves? One of the children are sunburned and needs the aloe for their skin."

Al replied, "Why certainly Scarlet, there are some really juicy ones on the right you may have." Scarlet picked the aloe leaves and flew back to the children that were picnicking under Ashby.

Scarlet dropped the aloe leaves on the children's blanket. Timmy picked up the leaves and Ashby told him, "squeeze the leaves and rub the aloe onto your skin. That will help stop the burning from your sunburn."

You can read the rest of this story from any of the major book sellers, or also at http://www.vincestead.com or http://www.fun2readbooks.com You can also listen to it in Audio.

The Ultimate Self-Help Book 8 Ways to Better Yourself

Chapter 1 - Getting Motivated

Before you take on something new or conquer something old, like a bad habit, you need to motivate yourself first. But, sometimes that isn’t always easy and requires some discipline on your part. Stop feeling lazy and get off that couch and don’t let yourself turn into a couch potato when it comes to life!

Here are some practical ideas and solutions to help the motivation juices begin to flow and get yourself back on track into whatever it is that you want to do and accomplish.

- Sometimes if you sit down and have a good talk with yourself and make a deal with yourself, it helps. It also gets things done if you promise yourself that you are going to accomplish things. A good way to do this is to reward yourself. Say something like, “Once I clean the house, I can relax with a hot bath and candles.” You get the idea.

- Set achievable goals for yourself and set one big large one. Like if you are going to lose 25 pounds on a diet, work weekly goals of 2-3 pounds, but then set one large goal of 25 pounds. That way, when you reach your weekly goals, they will be little victories for you and your big goal will be achieved in no time. This also sets the flow of reaching your major goal as well.

- Boost your self-confidence by accomplishing the hardest task first. Like if you are going to clean your house. Start with the biggest chore like scrubbing the floors or cleaning the toilets. This will also get you into that cleaning mode as well.

- Get into the mindset and act like you are motivated. Even if you don’t feel like you are motivated, pysch yourself out as if you are. And more than likely, within an hour or so, you will actually feel motivated.

- Sometimes, instead of jumping into something head on at full speed, you need to take your time instead. Visualize the task at hand, see yourself doing it and how you are going to do it, then do it!

- Make whatever you have to do be fun. This might not work with everything, but a majority of the things it will work.

- Don’t compare yourself with others. Go at your own pace. For example, if you are at the gym and have started the same time as someone else who is trying to lose weight as well, every time you see this person for weeks, they are dropping their weight rapidly, whereas you are going at a slow pace. Don’t compare yourself to them, compare yourself to what your results are. No person is alike in their progress. If you are going to compare yourself with others, then you are already setting yourself up for failure.

- Never have the fear of failing. When you do that, it’s hard to motivate yourself and worse, you’ve lost before you have even tried. Always remember that the worse failures are the ones you never tried or gave had a chance to.

- Know why you are trying to motivate yourself. If it’s to quit smoking, find out everything you need to know about quitting smoking, do your research.

- Keep track of your successes and never focus on your failures. Look at any failure as a learning experience and motivate yourself to do better and achieve what you want to accomplish.

- Make sure you know why you are trying to motivate yourself. If you have no objective in mind, then it’s a lot harder to motivate yourself. It will be hard to get something done if you don’t have a good enough reason.

- Always write down your goals and what you want to accomplish. Seeing it on paper or in a journal whether it’s written or on a computer, laptop, smart phone, etc… Just seeing it before you will help motivate you. Look at your goals every day several times a day.

- Put up photographs of what you want to accomplish. If you are trying to lose weight, put up photographs of models whose bodies you want, or bodybuilders who have the ultimate muscles. Or, if you want to fit into that dress or suit you just bought at the store, take a photograph of it and put it on your refrigerator. That way, when you are having a snack attack, the photograph will motivate you to not snack and stay focused.

- Always remember to stay positive! Don’t get yourself down or discourage yourself from obtaining your goals. It’s very important that you keep a positive attitude in anything you try to accomplish.

- Use your creativity and find innovative ways that will motivate your success. If you want a better paying job, make a chart on how to obtain that dream job or career.

- Most importantly make the most of your time and make every minute count in your day. Always think positive and constantly strive to move forward. After all, a rolling stone gathers no moss.

Chapter 2 - Taking Control of Your Life

You can read the rest of this story from any of the major book sellers, or also at http://www.vincestead.com or http://www.fun2readbooks.com You can also listen to it in Audio.

The Girl's Guide to Being Single

Chapter 1: Being a Single Girl Has Its Perks!

You’re a single girl who is independent and carefree. Maybe you’ve just gotten out of a divorce or it’s been awhile since your break-up with your boyfriend. You’ve gotten over the relationship ending and you are comfortable and actually happy being single. Sure, there are times when you wish you had someone to cuddle with on those cold and rainy nights, but you have learned to compensate and be good to yourself, instead of worrying about how to please the other person.

Your happiness as a single girl depends on how you deal with it. There are many things you can do to celebrate your shackles being unlocked. One of them is NOT sitting at home moping around wishing you had someone to share your life with.

With that attitude, you exude desperation and loneliness and ask any guy, that is a major turn off, even other girls will tell you that a desperate guy isn’t attractive at all. Men love confident women, not to be confused with cocky or arrogant. But, a woman with a certain independent flair about herself and an air of confidence will attract the men like bees to honey.

But, right now, you prefer to be alone and enjoy your “me” time. Because that is exactly what it is. This is your time to rediscover yourself, maybe find yourself again if you had been married or in a long term relationship where you lost your identity of who you were. Maybe you need some soul searching and to make changes in your life. Or maybe it’s just your time to celebrate being single and have fun in the process!

Ladies, have you ever had a long day at work, drive home in bumper to bumper traffic for two hours, walk through the door only wanting a glass of wine, a hot bubble bath, lit candles, a good book or some of your favorite tunes to listen to and you are greeted at the door by your husband or boyfriend with, “Thank god you’re home! I’m starving!” While he is sitting on your sofa watching the sports game of the night.

This is when the perks of being a single girl look pretty damn good at that point. When you’re single and you come home from a long day of work and battling traffic jams on the way home, all you want to do is take a nice hot bubble bath and relax with a bottle of wine that you don’t have to share with anyone and if you want something stronger than wine, then you can have that as well and not have to worry about making dinner for anyone or catering to anyone. If you want, you can just order delivery or take-out and enjoy your quiet evening at home with a romantic movie and no sport games on the T.V. You don’t have to listen to anyone complain about their day and compare yours with theirs on how bad it was.

If you want to complain or talk about your day to someone, you can always call one of your girlfriends and confide in her and if you are feeling rather generous, listen to what she has to say as well. Then smile when she begins to complain about how her boyfriend doesn’t do this or that for her and then be thankful that you are single!

Once you are done with your bath, knocked off a bottle of wine, watched your romantic movie or movies, depending on how tired you were, now is bed time. You crawl into the nice clean sheets you had put on your big bed this morning. You know they are clean and that no one has slept in them, because you live all alone.

This is your bed, you do not share it with anyone. You have it all to yourself. No one to steal the blankets and no one to steal your pillows. And best of all, no one to listen to snore. Yes, you know what I am talking about. I am sure that all of us at one point or another have had that ex-boyfriend or ex-husband who could rip the shingles off the house by snoring.

A snoring love partner is not one to be taken lightly. I had an ex-boyfriend who shook the walls literally when he snored. I mean, he was a big guy and it seems to me that most big guys snore very loudly. I lost so much sleep over his snoring.

When I had broken up with him, I had finally gotten a good night’s sleep. Truth be told, I had forgotten what one of those were like.

So, now since you do not have to share the bed with anyone else but yourself, you can get a very restful good night’s seep and wake up feeling rested and well refreshed in the morning.

No more dark circles under your eyes, no more tired looking eyes from lack of sleep or even being up all night crying because of an argument you and your boyfriend have had. No more of those long nights staying awake wondering if he’s going to call you. Just a nice and quiet peaceful night’s sleep and on your own schedule!

I had a boyfriend who would stay over and then get up two hours earlier than me to go to work! I had to go by his schedule in sleeping. I had to rearrange my sleep pattern in order to accommodate him in his. No more of that! I go to sleep when I want and wake up when I want on no one’s schedule except my own!

Ever have one of those boyfriends or husbands who didn’t like you sleeping in a large t-shirt and shorts and wanted you to wear lingerie all the time? I did. It gets tiring of having to please them at all times wearing sexy lingerie, panties and a bra.

Sometimes you just want to “bum it” in sweats and a t-shirt and leave the sexiness outside. When you are single, you don’t have to impress anyone with sexy lingerie or matching bra and panty sets.

So, you get up in the morning after a restful night’s sleep. You decide you want to make some breakfast. Pancakes sound really good with whipped cream and strawberries. Who cares about those little extra calories? It’s the weekend and you’ve been hitting the gym all week and can afford to splurge in the calorie department without having anyone there to tell you or watch you. NO GUILT!

After breakfast and the calories haven’t kicked in yet, they usually take a day or so before they show. Take advantage! You decide to go outside and wash your car and the frat guys across the street are doing the same. You have on your short Daisy Duke shorts and a bikini top and you want to get a little extra sun while you wash your car. Flirt like hell with those guys. You’ve already caught them checking you out.

You can read the rest of this story from any of the major book sellers, or also at http://www.vincestead.com or http://www.fun2readbooks.com You can also listen to it in Audio.

That Fabulous Party Guide

Chapter 1 – Kids Carnival Themed Party

Ever give a party for child and it turned out to be boring and even you wanted to leave the party? Kids themes parties have been rising over the years. Whether it’s superhero, movie, book, cartoon, etc… theme; theme parties are becoming more and more popular.

The question is though, is what type of party do you want to give your child that will be memorable for everyone? Kids and adults alike?

I once gave my son a carnival themed party. He was a very young age and I wanted children and adults that were friends and family to enjoy it. It took about three months to plan, but it tuned out wonderful. I had so many people tell me that it was the best kid’s party that they had ever attended. It made me feel great! So, now I will share with you how I went about planning it.

Step One: Make your guest list.

This is important when planning any party. You want to make sure you have enough food, prizes, gift bags, etc… Always have more than what you need. Also, if you are on a budget, you want to set your maximum number guests and stick with that number. For my son’s party, I had 100 guests.

Step Two: Decide on the menu and snacks to serve.

I went to a bulk food store. There are some that don’t have a membership requirement, try to find one in your area, they can save you a lot of money! I bought hot dogs and all the condiments, chips, veggie platters and bulk potato salad enough to feed a little over 100 people. I also picked up various cans of soda and bottled water and large tubs to hold them in with ice. The carnival company that I hired also brought a cotton candy maker and enough cotton candy for everyone.

Step Three: Find a carnival company.

You can search online for the nearest place that will supply you with the carnival games, booths and any rides you would like to have. Ask your local church or school who they usually go with. The right company will set up and take down everything for you.

If you would like to take a cheaper route, you can just have carnival games and no rides, maybe just one of those kid’s bouncy things instead. Here are some games you can create on your own.

The Duck Pond Game

You will need: One kid’s pool (blow-up or plastic type), rubber or plastic ducks, black magic marker and a small fish net.

Get at least 25 ducks. Underneath them with the black magic marker, make sure it’s the permanent kind, write a number like 1, 2, 3, etc… this will determine how many tickets the child will win. Fill the pool with enough water to make the ducks float. Add the ducks and when it’s the child’s turn, give them the small fishing net. The best ones are the ones that have a handle and a small net, like for small fish in fish tanks. Let the child grab a duck with the net and whatever number is underneath that duck is the number of tickets the child wins.

The Ring Toss Game

You can find a ring toss game online or at your local toy store. Or if you want to, you can make one. Here's what you need: 3/8 inch or ½ inch rope, something to cut the rope with like a knife or scissors, ½ inch stick or dowel rod, masking tape or electrical tape, saw, sandpaper, paint, marker, water bottles, plastic cups, and sand. Read thoroughly before beginning to make.

How to Make the Stakes and Rings

1. Cut the rope to make three to five rings. Cut the length of the rope to measure 15 inches long, this will be for each ring.

2. To make the ring, you need to join the two ends of he cut ropes together in a circle and secure with the tape. Make sure you use a short piece of tape to hold the ends together, then you want to wrap the longer piece very tightly at the ends to secure he rope ends to one another. Take the wooden stake and drive it into the ground. Make sure that the sticks or dowels are cut to 15 inches long. Make sure one end is pointed by whittling it with a utility knife. Then you need to sand the stake smooth. Then make sure you paint the stake because it will last longer if it’s painted.

3. You can create indoor stakes or outdoor stakes. Depending on where you are holding your party and games. For indoor stakes, you need to take an empty water bottle and fill it with sand or gravel. Screw the lid on tightly and tape it to secure. You can also use this method if you do not want to put the steak in the ground in your yard.

Now you are ready to play the ring toss game. Depending on how may rings you made. Give the player the rings and have them toss them to make them around the stake. For children, put the stakes closer, for adults, put the stakes further away. Give out tickets for prizes.

The Football Toss Game

What you will need: Three Nerf footballs or regular footballs, a tire tube or pool inner tube will work, rope and two poles.

Take the rope and tie the tire tube or inner tube securely to the poles with the circle opening of the tube facing the player. Tying it securely will keep it from moving or spinning around. Once the tire is secure, you can have the children stand closer than the adults.

The object of the game is to throw the football through the opening of the hole. When the player gets the football through the hole, they get a prize ticket or tickets!

Pop the Balloon Game......... You can read the rest of this story from any of the major book sellers, or also at http://www.vincestead.com or http://www.fun2readbooks.com You can also listen to it in Audio.

How to Start Over 101 Self-Employment Businesses

Introduction

This book is intended to give you some good ideas for starting your own business and working for yourself. One of the best ways to use this book, is to use some of these ideas to make up your own idea! As with any business you start, you should check all local and state laws before you invest your hard earned money into any new business endeavor.

A lot of these businesses can turn into really good businesses, for the person that has a dream of turning a small business into a very large business. You can do it if you think you can do it, just make a mental vision of yourself doing what you would like to do. If you can envision it, and you think you would enjoy it, go for it! You’re way more likely to succeed if you do something you really enjoy!

You will need to get and obtain certain items in order to run a proper business, like a fictitious business name, business license, resell permit, in some cases, a health department license, and more. So be sure to check all requirements for the business you want to start.

If you own, or would like to start a retail store, or even something smaller like a swap meet booth or flea market booth, you would be wise to contact some of the companies in this book, and ask them for a current catalog and price list. Most of these companies cater to small and large customers alike, but there is enough information here, to fill any store to the brim with new quality discount merchandise! It pays to spend some time doing searches on the internet to find some trade shows you can attend, pertaining to the lines of items you would like to sell. It also pays to shop around.

It’s not as hard as you think to import your own items these days. With the new global economy, it’s only natural to want to be more in control of your products and get the best possible price for it that you can!

1. Driving Instructor

You can make good money, by teaching others how to operate a car safely, and teaching new drivers the rules of the road. By being a driving instructor, you can be your own boss, and working for yourself, teaching others how to drive, and turn a fun business, into a nice full or part time job. Check with your local department of motorcycle vehicles to see the requirements for becoming a driving instructor in your area.

After becoming an instructor, make sure you put your advertising right on your auto with a sign, so new customers can call you when they see you out driving on the road. Also, make and pass out flyers at local high schools, sports fields, movie theaters, malls, and anywhere else teenagers and others will most likely see your flier, since teenagers will be your biggest customer base. Also, newly arrived citizens that need to learn to drive will be good for your business, advertise in local newspapers of different languages. You can set up appointments and plan driving lessons in advance, and later, you can grow your business and have other instructors giving lessons for you while you get a percentage of each of their businesses.

2. Garage Sale Shopping Business

You can make good part time or full time money from scouting out garage sale finds to get items for various purposes. First you might find a valuable treasure that only you could admire, and that is a find in itself. To find something you did not even plan on looking for, those are usually the best finds. It’s good to have several places where you can get rid of some of the stuff that you have now found.

Books are great for the Internet, sites like Half.com and Amazon.com sell really nicely, videos and DVDs sell very well there also. There are many thrift store type furniture stores that buy old desks and dressers to fix them up and resell them. There are always those nice finds when you get something for a few dollars you know will sell on ebay for ten times what you paid for it, sometimes. Keep an eye out for CD’s and rare albums, you can get a lot of money sometimes for the right collectors album, from record stores that like to buy stuff.

By far, the person that usually gets the best deal at a garage sale is the person who ends up buying the whole garage sale! These people can make a lot of money by taking everything there is, usually for a pretty cheap negotiated price, and the cheaper the better! The best way to liquidate everything fast is to take it to your local swap meet or flea market, and start selling early in the morning for the best prices you can get on your items. Then, towards the end of the day, have a $2 sell. You sell everything for $2. You can yell out as people walk by, over and over again, since there are usually new customers always walking by. People begin to buy more stuff because they the cheap prices. Then later, you yell out, everything for $1 each, then the more people will be buying and getting the items, after you sell a lot more items, you can have a .25 cent sale, this will get most of your items gone quickly, and you will have a lot of customers.

You need to talk loudly or yell just like a hawker on the sidewalk trying to sell their wares. After the rush is over, and you want to end the day, you have a free sale. Everything is for free, that will eliminate the entire load and what you paid for the original garage sale should of netted you a profit and you won’t have to take anything back with you and you will be done with that load.

You can read the rest of this story from any of the major book sellers, or also at http://www.vincestead.com or http://www.fun2readbooks.com

Learn the Fundamentals & Basics of Fun Different Sports to Play

1. Golf: The Elements of Playing Golf

2. Hockey: A Very Interesting Sport

3. Tennis: A Good Way to Stay Active and Fit

4. Tennis: Another Example of the Game

5. Soccer: How to Play Soccer

6. Basketball: A Team Sport

7. Basketball: Another Example of the Game

8. Football: The Biggest Sport

9. Football: Another Example of the Game

10. Baseball: Easy Rules to Play the Game

11. Racquetball: Simple & Basic Rules

12. Dodge Ball: How to Play Dodge Ball

13. How to Play Horse Shoes

14. How to Play Lacrosse

15. How to Play Volleyball

16. Boxing

1. Golf: The Elements of Playing Golf

The origin of golf in Scotland and was enjoyed from 15th century. The game was encouraged by the king of England James VI in 1603. In 1721, Golf was regularly played on Glasgow green, and the first Golf club and rules were laid in 1744. The first rules were written by Edinburgh golfers, and the first golf club was the honorable company of Edin-burgh golfers. Saint Andrew is the name of the very first golf course situated in Scotland.

Understanding the game: The game is played by the competing players also termed as golfers with different types of clubs and balls. The club is a long stick with a grip on one head and a club on the bottom end. The player makes a grip on the upper head and hit is the ball with the help of the club to put them in the series of holes that are created on a golf course. Clubs are made from different materials like wood and expensive metals sometimes.

Golf courses: A golf course is consisting of a number of holes. These holes are arranged like a series, and each of the series comprises of teeing ground, rough, fairway and other hazards that a golfer has to cross with full power and courage.

Some of the area of the golf course is green with a flag-stick sticking up and a cup at the bottom of the flag. Most golf courses have 18 holes because a standard round of golf is actually based on 18 holes. The numbers of holes can be increased and decrease in many other courses. Some of them have nine holes and some of them have 27 or 36 holes.

Teeing ground or tee is the area from where the game is started or from where the first shot is placed. The area between the tee and putting green is called the fairway where the grass is very short and is considering the most advantageous area. Rough is the area, which is consid-ered as disadvantageous and creates a problem for the golfer in hitting the ball.

Par: Par represents the number of strokes that a good golfer should try to hit the ball in that many times or less. In professional golf tournaments, par is considered the central component of the game. Par three, four and five holes are very common in most courses; however, there are some courses with par six holes. The distance for men and women varies. Par three men are equal to 250 yards and par three women are 210 yards.

Basic rules of golf: Many people love to play golf but most of them are found unaware of the rules. Rules are adding more charm and fun to the game of golf. Other basic rules are to avoiding disturbing the golfer by chatting and stand-ing close to him/her. Play in a quick manner and try to minimize the number of strokes. Never put your club in the putting green. Before starting, you must read the in-ternational and standardized rules as well as local rules. Count your clubs before starting the actual game and make sure that the number of clubs must be fourteen in all.

You can read the rest of this story from any of the major book sellers, or also at http://www.vincestead.com or http://www.fun2readbooks.com

A Guide to Creating Your Own Internet Radio Station

Chapter 1 – Let’s Do It!

So, you think you have what it takes to be a DJ and broadcaster? Awesome news for you! And guess what? This is very lucky news for you because in today's technology, it allows anyone who wants to do what was once a limited to a very small percentage of people. But, now you can become an online / internet DJ and / or broadcaster! You can actually be the DJ, the station manager and even the program director who decides what to play on the station, because it’s all on the internet!

There are several ways and approaches you can take in creating a streaming Internet radio station. Which one you decide to choose depends on what your goals are and what type of ways you wish to go about doing them in. If you are really motivated and inspired to start an Internet-based radio station that operates for the sole purpose of profit and revenue generation, your direction and approach will be different than from the individual who just wants to set up an Internet radio station for the only purpose of simply sharing his or her favorite opinions, information or music with friends or people with the same interests as their own.

There are many excellent options for the beginner that of which require very little technical knowledge. If you know how to create or put together MP3 format files, upload them onto a server and then choose some options, you can reach a world-wide audience!

If this really interests you, keep on reading because you're about to enter the world of online radio.

Live 365 is an affordable and premiere provider of independent web-based Internet radio show streams. What they do is act as your radio transmitter. They have created a structure that allows thousands of audio streams to use their servers to make broadcasting on the Internet very easy and simple. It's very easy to begin broadcasting with them and it's also easy for listeners to hear your own broadcast. Live365 does offer several options.

A Personal Station

Live365 offers you packages for either a personal stations or a professional station. With your own personal station you can broadcast your talk radio show or your favorite music or just a small amount of money.

Their streaming packages for a personal station begins as low as $4 a month to $99.95 per month. You can check their website for more information. Note that the more expensive the package is, the more server space you will receive and it also affects the amount of listeners who can tune into to you at once because the more listeners there are, takes up server space. Also, Live365.com will pay all your royalty fees for you to stream music, to organizations like BMI, SoundExchange, SEASAC and ASCAP.

They offer six broadcasting packages for personal use at Live365.com. They say that the most popular one is the Gold package that is set at $29.95 per month. In the Gold package you receive 1GB of storage, 28K sound quality, the ability for 60 people to listen at the same time in basic Mode or 30 listeners in live mode with unlimited VIP Listeners and the capability to upgrade your package at any time. Live365.com is the stress-free and easiest solution for almost everyone. The company provides outstanding software to help you create your own station and does all the preverbal heavy lifting. All you have to do is be creative! If you’re not sure if this is the avenue to take, they offer a free trial period for you to try it out!

Professional Stations

Live365 also offers professional broadcasting packages that allow you to create pre-recorded or live streams. You can also earn revenue through your own advertising, add links to your station on your own website and even stream through popular players like Winamp, Windows Media Player, iTunes, and more.

The prices for their professional packages are given when you contact Live365.com. According to their website: “Live365 offers full royalty/licensing coverage for SoundExchange, ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. Your station gets wide distribution including Live365.com (preferred station status), iTunes Radio (128k stations only), Mobile Apps (iPhone, Android), TiVo (home listening), Roku (home listening), and more.” Also according to their website, it is “The ONLY internet radio service that offers full music licensing for your station and website." So, if you're running a station that plays music, you will pay a fee to Live365.com in order to do this and you won’t have to worry about royalty payments. Their professional packages start at $99 per month for talk radio and $107 per month for music format stations.

The software they provide lets the DJ / Radio Host broadcast live at any time to listeners or upload WAV and MP3 music files, pre-recorded content , commercials to play on their station 24 hours-a-day. Their Station Manager software is designed to be used by anyone with or without any prior broadcasting experience.

Radionomy is a free and easy to use option where you can create your own online radio station. The main interface creator’s use is the Radio Manager. This dashboard that is web-based allows you to put all the controls in one place to run your own online radio station. You are able to select the musical genre and songs, choose the name of your station, even set up the rules for music rotation, you can upload an image for your station and within 24 hours it's streaming!

If you want to set up a broadcast and you don't wish to pay any fees to another party to host your Internet radio station and you are also a do-it-yourself hands on kind of person, you can also create your own Internet radio station by using your own personal computer to create a dedicated server for getting the job done.

Here are some of the software options for this method:

Quicktime Streaming Server. Apple.com declares: “Whether you are looking to add streaming media to your web site, deliver distance learning or provide rich content for your mobile subscribers, Mac OS X Server has all of the tools you need. QuickTime Streaming Server lets you deliver live or prerecorded content in real time over the Internet.” You can find out more information on Apple.com.

You can read the rest of this story from any of the major book sellers, or also at http://www.vincestead.com or http://www.fun2readbooks.com You can also listen to it in Audio.

Parents Guide to Autism: True Life Story, Tips and More!

Chapter 1. My Story

My pregnancy was a surprise to me. I didn't realize that I was pregnant until I was seven months along. I had been trying to get pregnant with my son’s father, who is now deceased.

In January 2004, I thought I was pregnant because I had not had my period. I went to my gynecologist and had a pregnancy test via urine. It turned up negative. At the time, I had been training for women's professional football. I was running 2-4 miles a day, practicing catching the football, etc... and of course eating healthy.

I was not taking any medications or drinking alcohol and was in pretty good health. A few months went by and I still hadn't had my period. I went back to the doctor and met with a nurse practitioner. I took another pregnancy test via urine... still negative.

The nurse practitioner at my gynecologist’s informed me that if I was trying to get pregnant, that maybe it was my husband's issue and that he should be tested. I informed her that I was training for football and she said that if I wanted to wait, that maybe I should go on birth control pills. I declined her offer, because birth control pills make me sick. I went home and continued training for several more months.

June 2004

I started waking up every morning sick to my stomach. My husband and I thought I had the stomach flu, although the sickness was only in the morning. It went on for about a month.

Early July, I was laying in bed one morning and I felt something in my stomach. Like a kick. I thought maybe that there was something wrong with my stomach. I had my husband take me to Urgent Care and I told them what was going on.

They took a blood test and urine test. The urine test came up negative for pregnancy, but the blood test came up positive. I was informed that I was pregnant and immediately made an appointment with my OB/GYN.

My OB/GYN confirmed my pregnancy and began scheduling appointments for me.

Most mothers-to-be have time to get a nursery ready, buy baby clothes, buy maternity clothes, etc... I had less than two months to do EVERYTHING! And in my final tri-mester to boot!

So, in between battling cravings, morning sickness, working a job, doctor's visits, swollen ankles, back pains... I had to get ready for my new arrival!

Did I forget to mention, this was my first child!

I had a sonogram done, pictures taken and was told I was having a baby boy!

Everything looked normal with the sonogram, except that my son was giving the technician the middle finger in his first picture! I knew at that moment that my new little one was going to be a handful.

The doctors weren't quite sure when my due date was. So, I was scheduled for an amniocentesis to estimate when my due date was. The amniocentesis sent me into contractions and they knew it was too early. Boy, were those contractions painful!

I was given medication to stop the contractions and kept overnight in the hospital and released the next day.

My dear sweet little guy was "sunny-side up" and turned around, so I was scheduled for a C-Section on August 10, 2004 in the morning. They had estimated a few weeks too early and my son was taken to NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) and hooked up to all sorts of machines and a life support machine was waiting nearby.

His lungs weren't fully developed yet. He stayed in the NICU for about three weeks. There were complications of him not breathing or he would stop breathing when he would be fed.

Finally I was able to bring him home and then the adventure of Nick started!

After I brought Nick home from the hospital, he started progressing as any normal child would. He began speaking with words like, "mama", "dada", "kitty" (we have two cats).

He started to first roll around and then shortly thereafter he began to crawl. He loved to eat and whenever he would hear his spoon scrape the bottom of the jar, he would get upset and cry because he knew there would be no more food until his next feeding.

Nick was showing high signs of intelligence and problem solving at a very early age. He slept in my room in his crib. Next to his crib there was a dresser, but it was way out of his reach. I placed his diapers, wipes, powder, etc... on this dresser and knew there was no way he could get to the items. Unless, of course, his arms grew about 5-6 ft long or he figured out how to move things with his mind.

The first morning I walked into the room after he had his nap, several of the items were in his crib! I took a step back and looked around. There was NO WAY he could have reached that far and got those items.

I took them out of his crib and put them back on the dresser. He wasn't too pleased about his newfound treasure being taken away. I thought maybe that I had forgotten to put them away. Yeah. That was it. Lack of sleep... rushing around… changing diapers...new mom duties... Yeah, I had forgotten to put them back on the dresser.

For his afternoon nap, I made sure I had taken everything and put them back on the dresser. I checked again.

I double checked.

I triple checked.

OK. Everything was put back.

I closed the door and let him take his afternoon nap.

Several hours later, I heard him in his crib laughing. I opened the door...

You can read the rest of this story from any of the major book sellers, or also at http://www.vincestead.com or http://www.fun2readbooks.com You can also listen to it in Audio.

Kids Cookbook: 20 Recipes for Kids to Make

Introduction

First off, I want to let all kids know that anytime there is an oven or stove involved in any of the recipes, ALWAYS have parental supervision. I repeat, ALWAYS have parental supervision when you are using a hot stove or hot oven. You are precious to your loved ones and even though they will appreciate you cooking for them, they do not want you hurting yourself in the process, and neither do I! With that being said…

Welcome to a cookbook for kids! In this book you will find 20 recipes for your parents, siblings or anyone else you want to treat special by cooking for them. I will give you recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and our favorite… dessert!

Remember to always clean up your mess in the kitchen, that’s also part of cooking. You don’t want to make a nice meal for someone and then leave a mess for them to clean up! Always be mindful of the kitchen and clean up along the way, to make things easier for yourself. If you spill milk, or drop flour on the counter, wipe it clean immediately. Mom doesn’t want to walk into her kitchen and wonder what on earth you are doing to her kitchen!

You can use these recipes for your friends too! With adult supervision, make a day in the kitchen with your friends and have some fun, especially on a rainy day when you can’t go outside to play. Don’t vegetate in front of the television or video game screen, make your own yummy veggie snack!

Create a camp-out in your own home and make some foods that you would normally eat when you are out camping when the weather is nice. There are all sorts of fun ideas you can do with the recipes and ideas for yummy and delicious desserts and meals to make for you and your loved ones. Make sure you have an apron on also, so you don’t make a mess of yourself. Besides, all the great chefs have a cool apron to wear when they are creating their masterpieces in the kitchen, just like you will be doing!

Chapter 1 – Breakfast

Everyone knows that starting out your day with a great breakfast is necessary! You have to fuel that body, so why not fuel it with yummy and easy things to make?

1. Crescent Sausage Mini Squares

Ingredients:

- 2 cans of crescent rolls

- 1 package of cream cheese

- 1 package of breakfast sausage (To make things easier you can always get the pre-cooked breakfast sausage already crumbled in a package.)

- Canned oil spray or butter to grease the cookie sheet

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°F.

If you didn't buy the pre-cooked crumbled breakfast sausage package, cook your breakfast sausage links in a frying pan. Ask an adult for help if you do not know how to cook sausage. Once sausage is fully cooked, set aside to cool.

Take one of the cans of crescent rolls and open it. Spread out the dough in one roll on greased cookie sheet. Do not separate. Keep dough in one piece.

Take the package of cream cheese and spread out all over on top of the dough with a butter knife. Don’t use a sharp knife because it’s not necessary and you may cut yourself!

Take the crumbled sausage package or cooked sausage and crumble it. Spread over cream cheese on top of crescent dough.

Open second can of crescent rolls and place over the cream cheese and crumbled sausage.

Bake for 12 - 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Ask an adult to help you cut into squares with a sharp knife. If you do it alone, please be careful not to cut yourself!

2. Chocolate Waffles

Ingredients:

- 3 cups flour

- 4 eggs

- 1/2 tablespoon salt

- 3 1/2 cups milk

- 2 tablespoons baking powder

- 2/3 cup sugar

- 2/3 cup cocoa powder

- 1 cup oil

Directions:

***Note! You must have a waffle iron for this recipe!***

Pre-heat waffle iron.

Take a large bowl and mix flower, salt, baking powder, sugar and cocoa powder all together. Set the bowl aside.

In a different bowl, take the eggs, milk and oil and slightly beat together with a wire whisk or large fork. When you are done, add mixture to the other bowl of ingredients.

Mix all the ingredients together in one bowl. Be careful not to over mix the ingredients though.

Take a one cup measuring cup and scoop out batter and pour onto pre-heated waffle iron. Follow the directions on your waffle iron on how to cook a waffle.

Optional: Serve with whipped cream or syrup.

Makes 6 waffles.

3. Chocolate Banana Crepes

Ingredients:

- 1 jar Nutella or melted chocolate

- 2 cups Bisquick

- 2 bananas, thinly sliced

- 2 eggs

- 1 1/2 cups milk

- Crepe pan or non-stick frying pan

- 1 stick of butter

Directions:

In a large bowl mix Bisquick, two eggs and only 1 cup of the milk. After all is mixed together, add the rest of the milk and mix.

Grease the crepe pan or frying pan with a little butter. Pour the mixture into the pan so that it makes a large, thin circle. Now spread out mixture by lifting up the pan and tilting it in different directions.

Be careful not to burn yourself! Ask an adult if you need help.

You can read the rest of this story from any of the major book sellers, or also at http://www.vincestead.com or http://www.fun2readbooks.com You can also listen to it in Audio.

HOW TO HUNT & FISH FOR RABBITS, DUCKS, DEER, BEAR, CATFISH, TUNA, SHARK & MORE

1. HOW TO GO RABBIT HUNTING

2. HOW TO GO DUCK HUNTING

3. HOW TO GO DUCKING HUNTING #2

4. HOW TO GO PHEASANT HUNTING

5. HOW TO GO PHEASANT HUNTING #2

6. HOW TO GO RACCOON HUNTING

7. HOW TO GO OPOSSUM HUNTING

8. HOW TO GO DEER HUNTING

9. HOW TO GO MOOSE HUNTING

10. HOW TO GO BEAR HUNTING

11. HOW TO GO BOW AND ARROW HUNTING

12. THE BEST GUNS TO USE FOR HUNTING

13. HOW TO TRAP FOR ANIMALS

14. HOW TO HUNT FROM A BLIND

15. HOW TO GO FRESHWATER FISHING

16. HOW TO GO TROUT FISHING

17. HOW TO GO BASS FISHING

18. HOW TO GO CATFISH FISHING

19. HOW TO GO SALMON FISHING

20. HOW TO GO SALTWATER FISHING

21. HOW TO GO TUNA FISHING

22. HOW TO GO TUNA FISHING #2

23. HOW TO GO SAILFISH FISHING

24. HOW TO GO SHARK FISHING

25. HOW TO GO CRAB FISHING

26. HOW TO GO LOBSTER FISHING

27. HOW TO GO FLY FISHING

28. HOW TO GO SPEAR FISHING

29. HOW TO GO ICE FISHING

1. HOW TO GO RABBIT HUNTING

It's not hard to locate the right spots for rabbit hunting. Wherever there are plenty of rabbits, you can be sure there is an abundant food supply available nearby, and you know rabbits would thrive really well there. The best places to search for rabbits would be by bushes, the woods, briars, fencerows and even alongside drainage systems. A densely covered rail line or places to hide would also have rabbits thriving there, so check out those places as well. You should not ignore old farmhouses, or irrigation pipes on the ground, as rabbits like to live in them also.

The best way to locate rabbits would be to drive down early in the morning or late at night on the rural routes, and you would find many rabbits running around. Now that you know where to look for the rabbits, let’s find out how you can hunt for them now.

You can hunt for many rabbits when you have the right rifle with you, a .22 rifle that is, some even use a bow and arrow, or even a pistol for hunting rabbits. You could also choose to use a shotgun, a 20 gauge that has an improved cylinder choke. Now while you are busy thinking of shooting rabbits, ensure you are well covered and protected or else the thorns and briars along the path rabbits like to hide could hurt you.

If you are lucky enough to own a Beagle, they make some of the best rabbit hunting dogs to have. Beagles will happily go sniffing the trails and will follow the chase and bring the hunt back to you. Their barks would be like angels playing the harp on a cold winter morning, while they bark their ways to the rabbit and bring it to the ground and finally to you, since most rabbits will run in a circle.

If you don’t have a Beagle or a pack of them, then you should wait out the rabbits, which is the traditional way of rabbit hunting. In this situation, you need to be camouflaged and wait patiently until you out wait the rabbits. If you pause at any given point of time, the rabbit would pick up the signs and take off for their life. Choose a location suitable for hunting and walk slowly. The ideal thumb rule is 10:30, paces to seconds that is. This would make the rabbits think they have been spotted and when you pause silently, they start to run.

Snap shooting is the best way for rabbit hunting, say experts. Rabbits wouldn’t wait for you to shoot them and they don’t have the time to swing around where you would want to target them. It is up to you now to locate the prey and shoot in an instant.

The best thing about rabbit hunting is that you don’t need to have props or blinds set up to hunt. All you have to do is have many quick senses in place and patience to hunt down your rabbit.

2. HOW TO GO DUCK HUNTING

There are all sorts of hobbies and activities that one can conduct during their free time. Depending on your inter-est and personality, the activities you would be pursuing might be different, even amongst your friends. Some activi-ties are common whereas some may not be. For instance, duck hunting is one of those activities that many would as-sume that it is filled with unknowns and complicated meth-ods. No matter if, you are interested with this hunting activi-ty or you have been ducking hunting before, some of these guidelines here might be useful for you to try out yourself in the near future.

Before heading out the door for duck hunting, always make sure that you are having all the necessary tools and equip-ment for this activity. One of the equipment’s you should not overlook is waders, especially for individuals who do not wish to get their bodies’ wet while duck hunting. Of course, although a set of waders might be expensive, do not fret that you might waste the money-buying waders if you do not plan to go duck hunting for a long time. You can still use your waders for any other fishing activities and also to keep your-self warm during any outdoor activities, do go ahead and buy some.

Of course, ducks will never march their ways towards you when you are merely hunting them. By this, you would defi-nitely need some extra help from the decoys. Many would prefer to use a robot duck, which you will be able to obtain in the market for an affordable price, to lure the ducks out. The robot duck is believed to be one of the most effective decoys to tempt the ducks out of their hiding places. Apart from that, you can also use the technique of duck calls to further en-hance the effectiveness of luring the ducks out. Duck calls are like a push to persuade the ducks to come towards you, and it is best used when your decoys seem to be providing slow and fruitless results.

Now you know the important equipment you should bring along when duck hunting. The next thing you need to know about duck hunting is the best locations to conduct the hunt. There are a few factors you can put into consideration when selecting the best places for duck hunting. It is better for you to look out for big pools or big water areas. In order to find out where the ducks will be spending most of their time, you need to be attentive of the weather patterns as well as the wa-ter levels of the water area.

Furthermore, if you are planning to conduct duck hunting for a long period of time, it is also recommended for you to keep a hunting log, jotting down the necessary information every time you go duck hunting so that it would be easier for you to track down the best locations the next time you go duck hunting.

You can read the rest of this story from any of the major book sellers, or also at http://www.vincestead.com or http://www.fun2readbooks.com You can also listen to it in Audio.

How to Tell if Your Partner Has Been Cheating

Chapter 1 -

Chapter 1 - How to Tell if Your Boyfriend

or Girlfriend Is Cheating on You*

Aside from the feelings we get when we first enter a relationship, once the “newness” wears off and the “honeymoon” is over, sometimes we wonder if our partner is cheating on us. Whether you’ve been cheated on before or not or if there are signs, maybe lipstick on his collar or she is getting texts in the middle of the night that she just “has” to reply to. Sometimes our instincts tell us that something isn’t right and we should further investigate our instincts.

Being cheated on is no fun. Especially if you are making future plans with this person and have invested a lot of time in getting to know each other. Even more so if you are living together and sharing a life together. When you find out your partner is cheating on you, it can be devastating!

Not everyone cheats, but as a growing trend of online dating sites and the internet being the number one form of communication these days, opportunities arise for many to cheat on their partners.

Sometimes when we suspect someone is cheating on us, we are wrong. Like perhaps when your partner is out late and says they are working. You might suspect that they are cheating on you, when in reality, they are actually working late. It’s when isolated instances like that make us wonder, but there is no real proof or that our suspicions are unfounded.

But, then there are times when we see signs that point towards infidelity. It’s those that come in numbers that we need to take attention to.

Before you confront you partner, here are some signals that you should be looking for and hen make your own assessment.

- If they have stopped talking to you and communicating with you, especially if they have been really good about it before. If they seem suddenly distant from you and or lacking intimacy with you? If so, they very may well be cheating on you because they are sharing with another person now.

- Remember before when you could come over to their house unannounced or *show up at their work for a surprise lunch visit? But, now when you do, they get angry and irritated with you. Chances are because the other woman or man is doing the same thing and they don't want you to run into each other. That could easily blow their cover!

- Look for any changes in their routine. Is there anything out of their normal everyday things they do? Like, for instance, are they working late at the office every night all of a sudden and have never done so before? Are they paying more attention to their cell phone texts when they are with you, but when you are not together, do they take forever to reply back to you?

- Are they secretive about their text messages or contacts on their cell phone, when once they didn't care if you would look through their phone at all? Have they added a password on their laptop or tablet when before you were able to access it with no problem at all? Wake up, they are hiding something and don't want you to see what it is that they are hiding from you. More than likely, photos or love notes to and from the person they are cheating on you with.

- If you feel that your partner is talking excessively about someone and how much they despise them and how unattractive they are, but seem to be still talking about them constantly, chances are that they are trying to throw you off the interest they have in them. They are trying to use reverse psychology on you.

- Look for mood changes around you. Do they tend to want to lean more into starting fights with you, whereas before they would avoid them all together? Do they seem only moody around you? When someone is cheating they will displace their own anger within themselves and guilty feelings onto their partner. They are harboring negative feelings and you will be the one they will aim towards, this will give them justification within themselves to cheat on you.

- When they come home, are the smell of cologne, if they are a girl or perfume if they are a male? Chances are it is the person's scent they have on them that they are cheating on you with. If you don't recognize that scent, then they have been very close to someone with that scent. - Are their political views changing? Their music tastes? Maybe they have taken up a new hobby that they once had told you that they despise. If a person suddenly starts spending time with a new person, often times they will adapt to their way of thinking and their tastes. Things they once despised will seem fabulous to them because they are trying to impress the other person.

- Remember when they would take calls right in front of you because it was their friends calling to confirm the plans for the weekend? Are they now suddenly leaving the room to take a call because they don't want you to hear their conversation? Perhaps the conversation is with the person they are cheating on you with and they don't want you to hear their sweet nothings to that person. And if you ask them who it was and they reply with, "It was no one." Then you should investigate. Since when does a "no one" require their undivided attention?

- When you go into their car or home and they have to "make sure things are clean" before you enter. This might be a good indication that they need to hide her earring she left behind in the car or that the condom by the side of the bed needs to be thrown away.

- Another good indication is if your partner lies to you. A good way to check on this is if you ask them where they were or went to lunch and who they were with. Ask them what they had for lunch and at what restaurant. A few days later, ask them about it again and be casual about it. If they lie about what they had and or where they went, then chances are that they can be lying to you about other things.

- Look at receipts or credit card bills if you can. If your partner is constantly going out and paying for two meals every time and you're not with them or if you notice your boyfriend bought a ring or necklace and saw the credit card bill or receipt for it and you have never seen the jewelry, because it was obviously not for you, then be on alert.

You can read the rest of this story from any of the major book sellers, or also at http://www.vincestead.com or http://www.fun2readbooks.com You can also listen to it in Audio.