WOMEN, what do your shoes say about you?

Imagine if Prince Charming could suss what Cinderella was like the moment he layed eyes on her glass slipper - would there still have been a happily ever after?

According to psychologists, your shoes, just like your clothes, are blabbing loads about your personality, whether you like it or not.

So, the next time you want to send a message to Mr Right, slip on the perfect pair and let your feet do the talking.

SNAZZY SANDALS

You don't skimp on style for comfort 

While you're not going to subject yourself to painful stillettos or wobbly wedges, you're also not going to put a sartorial foot wrong, keeping things trendy with embellishments.

STILLETOS

You're the life of the party 

You're a confident lass and you know what your sex appeal can get you. Some may call you silly, shallow and spoilt, but that's only because they're jealous.

BALLERINA FLATS

You're the sweet, dependable girl 

Women who favour flats are usually great fashionistas, kind and considerate in nature. The lack of a towering heel make men feel more macho around you.

MONOCHROME FLATS

You're a classic beauty 

The fewer unnecessary frills in your life, the better. It's the simple life for you and a life you're very much in control of.

COLOURS & PATTERNS 

There's never a dull moment with you 

Bright colours are an indication that you're confident, sexy and all-round extroverted. They convery uniqueness and a girl who's not concerned about simply pleasing others.

PEEP TOES

You err on the side of caution 

Generally a girly girl, you're modern and elegant, but without being overly bold and daring.

WEDGES 

No nonsense for you 

In relationships, you value reliability and trust the most. As a person, you're straight forward and love power.

Personality and the Handshake

Does the handshake matter?

How to Handshake Basics

Palm Vertical to the ground and extending your arm forward as though you were sawing wood with a hand saw. It sends a message of greetings, I am here for you as you for me. We are equals.


Better Tilt your hand slightly so that your palm is pointing to the sky. This subtle body language message is humility and that you are there to help and to serve.



Palm Up I am here to serve you. It can also indicate when first offered, submission or take charge.


Palm Down This is the authoritative position. You are in charge or in authority. You are there to take the lead, to take care of things, to get the job done. However it can also indicate a controlling personality.



Hand in Hand Typically your greeter will offer a hand palm up and before shaking starts the second hand sandwiches yours. Sometimes given to show empathy as with the loss of a loved one.


It is also given when wanting to demonstrate concern or to convey that you’re with a caring individual. It seems to be a favorite of politicians.


It conveys familiarity. Do not use it unless you are close to the individual you do it with, you want to leave a bad impression or you are a politician.


The Middle Five Related to a high five, a mid five fanning of the hand will be offered from the right side of your greeter and will wave in almost as if to clap your hand and then ending in a traditional shake.


This is something you will only observe in men in their 20’s and younger.


Only engage in it if you are familiar or have become known to the person offering it. Remember, others around may note your gestures in this regard as well.

The Eyes Have It

Maintain eye contact while engaging in shaking hands. Nothing will communicate self confidence, sincerity, and camaraderie more than this one gesture.

The Pressure Is All Mine

The pressure applied in shaking a hand is relative to the culture your in.

In North America, a firm hand shake is appropriate. Make it stronger or weaker than a basic firm grasp and you will leave a negative impression.

Make Mine Dry

Some occasions cause stress and resulting sweaty palms. You won’t get a second chance at a first impression. If you're meeting and greeting after a speech, you will want to be remembered for your words and not wet hands.


If faced with this challenge, always carry a handkerchief with you to ensure you’re remembered for you and not a damp handshake. Use discretion and grace so that it is not noticed that you had to dry.


If you are enjoying a drink, hold it in the left hand until introductions are completed.


Wash your hands with soap and water and dry well prior to a meeting.


Keep your palms open and out of your pockets.

Other Types of Hand Shakes

Including those above there are other types of handshakes. Meanings are implied. Remember, there are no hard and fast rules here. Bottom line, what do you want to project about yourself.


If these have meaning or not, remember that someone may have read up on and imply meaning to your hand shake. So use good form.

Knuckle Bump or Fist Bump

If you were ever young, you probably remember treading into new territories of social norms with a bent toward nonconformity.


Well, today's youth have a new hand shake that, due to its nonconformity, is actually healthier than traditional handshakes.


It involves both parties making a fist and on meeting and greeting, the fist of each person will meet, knuckles to knuckles.


Before there is a meeting of the mind, there is a meeting of the hands.



Called the knuckle bump or the fist bump, according to a 2010 survey commissioned by Purell, two in five adults are resistant to shaking hands. The biggest fear, germs.


More importantly, 4 out of 5 said that they shake hands less. and almost half of North Americans have chosen the knuckle bump, also known as fist bump, over a traditional hand shake.


Yep, I have even seen a group of writers, all over 65 who knuckle bumped each other at their meeting and greeting each other. And this was in the quite conservative North East Pennsylvania.

The slightly older but still from younger generations is the wide five. As if giving each other a middle five hand slap, the hands wave in from the side in a wide arch. When the hands meet, rather than a slap, there is a more traditional shake.

Remember, these are going to be the new movers and shakers.

Even better, the meeting of the hands is safe, effective, does not spread germs nearly as much as a traditional shaking of hands and is, well, not too weird for older generations. Weird as in fraternity hand shakes.

The Standard Hand Shake

A typical hand shake as described above. Hands are engaged and eye contact made, smiles are exchanged and two to four shakes.

Using Good Form

Raise your hand from your side and extend until webs of both hands meet. Grasp across the palm wrapping fingers around the opposite side from the thumb.

Hold firmly.

Shake a few times or for about three or four seconds.

What if your hands are full? Rather than risk dropping everything, give a polite nod is considered acceptable. If the other person’s hands are full, be kind and don’t offer a hand shake. Your discernment will be noted and appreciated.

If wearing gloves, remove them.

It is customary to stand if you’re caught in an introduction seated.

The Lingering Hand Shake

A standard hand shake with an extra few shakes and holding on for just a few seconds. I find this often happens when old friends meet or with a good bye to someone dear. Between business people, it gives a bit of a chance to communicate positive thoughts.

The Push Off

At the end of the shake, your hand is pushed away. It is subtle but it could be read as a negative message.

The Pull In

The hand shakes results in one pulling the other closer. It speaks of a controlling body language.

The Superior

If offered first palm down, it indicates superiority. It is the body language of a controlling person.

The Lesser

If offered first, palm up, it could indicate humility and being there to serve.

The Finger Cruncher

Rather than grasping across the palm, the fingers are grasped and crushed. It can be painful. The person who does the finger cruncher will say they cant judge their strength but if you watch, they will not shake a woman's hands the same way. It is almost as if it is sport to give pain.

The Bone Cruncher

Much like the finger cruncher, the same vice like grip is around the hand.

The Palm Pincher

This is usually from a woman, and only a few fingers and thumb grasp the palm for the shake.

The Twister

This may start off as a normal shake but ends up with one twisting and putting the other on top. Sometimes it is incorporated with a pull in. It speaks of a controlling personality.

The Dead Fish

This is a cold, sometimes wet, unemotional shaking of hands. It is the definition of apathy.

Mastering the standard hand shake can help you progress in your career. Don’t get hung up on what it all means unless it is what it could mean about you and the personality you’re projecting.

If others judge you, may your hand shake improve the impression you leave.

One Last Thought

Do not forget the cultural differences from around the world. It would be improper for a woman to offer her hand to some sects of the Jewish Faith.

In some countries, it is normal for men to walk down the street holding hands. Nothing more is meant nor is happening other than they are good friends.

Which of the following more closely resembles your handshake style?

1. Firm and brief
Conveys confidence, assertiveness and professionalism. The person using this handshake is neither shy nor neurotic and is generally perceived to be trustworthy and willing to listen. A firm handshake provides the opportunity for a favorable first impression, it suggests a person who is knowledgeable and possesses excellent social skills. There are instances where stereotypes elicit a negative evaluation, such as when women's behavior is similar to men's. In the case of a firm handshake however, a woman is always seen as being confident and decisive.

2. A real "shake", up-and-down or sideway movements (AKA the jackhammer handshake or "pumper")
Most likely an open and outgoing person who has the habit of being warm and pleasant to everybody. An overly eager handshake shows power, determination and the desire to remain in control of situations. If exaggerated, the handshake can make people appear inflexible and it can also reveal insecurity, a person who doesn't know when to quit.

3. The knuckle cruncher (AKA bone crusher)
The knuckle cruncher usually wants to express a message of power and intimidation. For those people who want to cover up their feelings of insecurity this handshake may be used to keep others at a distance. When faced with this handshake do not appear submissive. It may serve your purpose however, to be accommodating and regardful of these people. There are also cases where the person is  being sincere. However while the intention may be to convey warmth, the impression created is definitely that of a person who is high strung and lacks sensitivity. Regardless of the intentions involved, people will remember this handshake and draw lasting impressions.

4. The lingering handshake (AKA the prison handshake)
Sometimes people keep your hand in their hand for too long and seem to not want to give it back. This may denote reliability and  trustworthiness or it may suggest that the person hasn't revealed all of his/her cards. It may also mean that the person is expecting  something more that what was agreed upon. Therefore, in order to interpret this handshake, it would be necessary to go with instinct, or examine other body language as well. Interestingly, in the case of a lingering handshake, few people try to pull their hand away. It seems that the act of being physically connected causes their boldness to fade.

5. Light and brief finger-tip grips (AKA the limp or dead fish hand shaker)
Someone who is not interested in building rapport and wants to escape the greeting ritual as soon as possible. This person is perceived to be  passive and reserved, without the interest and energy required to complete people focused tasks. This type of handshake indicates a lackluster  personality and usually draws a lasting impression. If however, the handshake is done with a direct look into the other person's eyes, it can indicate the potential for further development.

6. Use both hands (AKA hand sandwich or the politician's handshake or used car salesman shake)
A result of an eagerness to convey a message. This is the favorite handshake of politicians because it implies a quick sincerity and intimacy.  It is open to interpretation whether the person is trying to sell something that's not really there, or is someone who is genuine and  agreeable. If it is decided that the person is hoping to secure a favor, note that the higher the other hand (from the wrist to the neck), the  greater the manipulation and control.

7. Teacup (AKA the lobster claw)
Like the claw of a lobster, the other person’s thumb and fingers touch the palm of the hand and there is no palm-to-palm contact. Timid and insecure, this person fears connecting at a deep level and may face challenges building relationships. This handshake may also indicate that the person is hiding something.

8. Won't initiate a handshake
This person will only react to the other party's first move. In a case such as this, the person may be objecting to a situation, however if this behavior is consistent, the person may be hesitant and reserved by nature. Cultural norms dictate that the older person or the person with the highest stature should initiate a handshake. If you have roughly the same age and position with the other person then offering a handshake is a way of  portraying yourself as a confident person.

9. Pat the other person's arm or shoulder while engaged in a handshake
May reveal a sense of superiority. Depending on the person's social position this handshake can be a sincere effort to show understanding or it can be an attempt to belittle someone. This type of handshake is sometimes used between friends of long standing and consequently can portray false sincerity when the relationship is more superficial. Depending on the vibes that you receive, be mindful and aware, especially in situations where you need to place your trust.

10. The stiff-arm thrust (AKA next-to-the-body handshake)
Keeping the arm close to the body while bending it at the elbow, this handshake is used by people who do not want to take risks. It can also act as a defense mechanism for people who feel a threat to their territory, and tends to be used by aggressive people who want to keep others at a  distance.

Add dessert to breakfast and lose weight

A new study suggests that the best way to lose weight is to start the day off with a balanced breakfastand then have your cake and eat it too -- literally.

It may sound counterintuitive, but according to the results of a study out of Tel Aviv, adding a dessert to a 600-calorie breakfast can help dieters lose more weight and keep it off.

The reason? The body’s metabolism is at its most active in the morning, researchers say, making it the optimal time to indulge -- and curb -- sweet cravings. Dieters also have the whole day to work off the extra calories.

The study, announced by Tel Aviv University on February 7 and published in the journal Steroids, assigned 193 obese adults two different diets over an eight-month period. 

One group was put on a low-carb diet that included a small, 300-calorie breakfast, while the second group was given a 600-calorie breakfast, high in protein and carbohydrates, which always included achocolate dessert.

Gender allowances were also made, as men consumed 1,600 calories a day and women 1,400.

Halfway through the study, scientists observed that groups lost an average of 33 lbs (15 kg) per person.

In the second half of the study, however, while the low-carb group regained an average of 22 lbs. (10 kg), the second group lost another 15 lbs (7 kg).

At the end of the 32-week program, those put on the dessert breakfast lost an average of 40 lbs (18 kg) more per person than their peers.

Ingesting a higher proportion of daily calories at breakfast makes sense, researchers say, as it helps rev up the metabolism but also alleviates cravings, researchers said.

Furthermore, restrictive diets that ban small indulgences like desserts more often than not cause people to fall off the proverbial wagon and cheat, regaining any weight lost.

However, in another German study published last year, researchers came to a different conclusion about breakfast habits and weight loss. After analyzing and comparing the food diaries of 300 participants, scientists found that people ate the same at lunch and dinner regardless of the size of their breakfast, resulting in a total increase of daily caloric intake overall.

Vocabulary: e·ruc·ta·tion

>The act or an instance of belching. 
>A reflex that expels gas noisily from the stomach through the mouth
>The process of belching. 
>That which is regurgitated in belching.

DO’S AND DON’TS AFTER MEAL (myth? or fact?)

Myths are obviously the fruit of partial or total ignorance, and speculations, handed down from generation to generation. While many of them are totally false, some of them are true or partly true. Here are eight of them:

1."Don't smoke after a meal because the bad effect (emphysema, cancer, etc.) of smoking a cigarette becomes ten times worse."

This is true in the sense that the natural bodily absorption rate following a meal is heightened, magnifying the ill-effects of tobacco (nicotine) on our system. One stick of cigarette, like one drop of any poison, is one too many.

2."Don't eat fruits immediately after a meal because this will cause the stomach to bloat with air. Therefore take fruit 1-2hours after meal or 1hour before meal"

This is not true. Fruits improve our digestion. However, there are people who have some degree of intolerance to fruits (fructose intolerance), who will have the sense of bloating after ingestion of fruits. In general, eating fruits right after a meal is good and well-tolerated by the body. Diabetics should discuss this with their physician since fruits will be additional calories that must be taken into account when computing their "diabetic diet."

3."Don't drink tea after a meal because tea is high in acid which will harden the protein content of food we consume thus make it difficult to digest."

It is true that tea is high in tannin or tannic acid, but the rest of the statement is false. Tea, as a matter of fact, improves our digestion. It is a tonic that invigorates the brain, speeds up the circulation, and makes the stomach digest food easier.

4."Don't loosen your belt after a meal because this will cause your intestines to twist and get blocked up."

The first part of the statement is a sound advice, but not for the reason given. Not loosening your belt after a meal makes you more conscious that your stomach is full enough, so you do not overeat. Also, the "normal tightness" of the belt provides one a natural "suck-in-the-abdomen technique" of controlling your waistline. It has been shown that sucking in the abdomen (as in the required military posture among cadets, etc) does help prevent "bulging waistlines," since sucking in the belly is nothing but an exercise to contract the muscles of the abdomen. If one does it every moment of awareness, which is like exercising the abdominal muscles every few minutes to make them taut and firm. The part about intestinal twisting and obstruction is false.

5."Don't bathe after a meal because this will weaken digestion."

While taking a bath (especially a warm one) will divert some blood from the stomach to the skin, taking a bath after a meal will not significantly impair digestion. The general rule is: after a meal, do not to do strenuous activities that will divert a lot of the blood away from the stomach, which needs "enough" blood for digestion. What's enough for one person may be different from another individual's physiologic need.

6."Don't walk after a meal. The digestive system will be unable to absorb the food."

Walking or strolling after a meal is not bad at all. It will help burn up some calories without significantly diverting blood from the stomach. Only strenuous physical and mental activities are discouraged immediately after a meal.

7."Don't sleep immediately after a meal because food will not be digested properly and this will lead to gastric infection."

The first part is true: it is not healthy to sleep with a full stomach. Not that it will cause "bangungot" or pancreatitis (as another myth claims), but gastric distention can lead to some heart irregularity in some people. Habitually sleeping immediately after a meal will also increase the tendency to obesity. As far as gastric infection is concerned, that claim is false.

8."Don't eat again until after four hours or longer because this will make the stomach stretch and grow larger."

This is not a myth but a sage advice. The stomach grows larger the more often we eat and the more food we eat, stretching our stomach, and conditioning our brain to crave for more food with every meal. And this will inevitably lead to obesity and its dangerous implications and complications. Drinking a tall glass, or two, of water before each meal will distend the stomach somewhat and "fool" the brain and curve the hunger sooner, leading to less total caloric intake. A simple, cheap and great dieting strategy.

God-bless to everyone and hope you'll learned from here...(Choymcs)

Quotable quotes for MOTHERS

These quotable quotes are for my beloved mom - Edna Palomo Casamayor

My mom is literally a part of me.  You can't say that about many people except relatives, and organ donors.  ~Carrie Latet

Mothers are fonder than fathers of their children because they are more certain they are their own.  ~Aristotle

Women are aristocrats, and it is always the mother who makes us feel that we belong to the better sort.  ~John Lancaster Spalding

Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs in my field, since the payment is pure love.  ~Mildred B. Vermont

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born.  She never existed before.  The woman existed, but the mother, never.  A mother is something absolutely new.  ~Rajneesh

If the whole world were put into one scale, and my mother in the other, the whole world would kick the beam.  ~Lord Langdale (Henry Bickersteth)

Some mothers are kissing mothers and some are scolding mothers, but it is love just the same, and most mothers kiss and scold together.  ~Pearl S. Buck

If you have a mom, there is nowhere you are likely to go where a prayer has not already been.  ~Robert Brault

All women become like their mothers.  That is their tragedy.  No man does.  That's his.  ~Oscar Wilde

An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy.  ~Spanish Proverb

She never quite leaves her children at home, even when she doesn't take them along.  ~Margaret Culkin Banning

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts.  A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.  ~Sophia Loren,Women and Beauty
 

If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?  ~Milton Berle

I love my mother as the trees love water and sunshine - she helps me grow, prosper, and reach great heights.  ~Terri Guillemets

[A] mother is one to whom you hurry when you are troubled.  ~Emily Dickinson

A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.  ~Washington Irving

Any mother could perform the jobs of several air traffic controllers with ease.  ~Lisa Alther

 

Now, as always, the most automated appliance in a household is the mother.  ~Beverly Jones

Grown don't mean nothing to a mother.  A child is a child.  They get bigger, older, but grown?  What's that suppose to mean?  In my heart it don't mean a thing.  ~Toni Morrison, Beloved, 1987

Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,
Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,
Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,
But only one mother the wide world over.
~George Cooper

A father may turn his back on his child, brothers and sisters may become inveterate enemies, husbands may desert their wives, wives their husbands.  But a mother's love endures through all.  ~Washington Irving

A mom forgives us all our faults, not to mention one or two we don't even have.  ~Robert Brault

 

You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool mom.  ~Author Unknown

One good mother is worth a hundred schoolmasters.  ~George Herbert

Mother's love is peace.  It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved.  ~Erich Fromm

Mother - that was the bank where we deposited all our hurts and worries.  ~T. DeWitt Talmage

Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall; A mother's secret hope outlives them all.  ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Most of all the other beautiful things in life come by twos and threes, by dozens and hundreds.  Plenty of roses, stars, sunsets, rainbows, brothers and sisters, aunts and cousins, comrades and friends - but only one mother in the whole world.  ~Kate Douglas Wiggin

Whatever else is unsure in this stinking dunghill of a world a mother's love is not.  ~James Joyce

My mother had a slender, small body, but a large heart - a heart so large that everybody's joys found welcome in it, and hospitable accommodation.  ~Mark Twain

The mother's heart is the child's school-room.  ~Henry Ward Beecher

Mother, the ribbons of your love are woven around my heart.  ~Author Unknown

How beautifully everything is arranged by Nature; as soon as a child enters the world, it finds a mother ready to take care of it.  ~Jules Michelet

The desolation and terror of, for the first time, realizing that the mother can lose you, or you her, and your own abysmal loneliness and helplessness without her.  ~Francis Thompson

A man's work is from sun to sun, but a mother's work is never done.  ~Author Unknown

Mirror, mirror on the wall,
I am my mother after all.
~Author Unknown

No one in the world can take the place of your mother.  Right or wrong, from her viewpoint you are always right.  She may scold you for little things, but never for the big ones.  ~Harry Truman

The best conversations with mothers always take place in silence, when only the heart speaks.  ~Carrie Latet

Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother.  ~Oprah Winfrey

A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest.  ~Irish Proverb