Yamvan

In most cases, shopping for jewelry for the special person in your life is like searching for buried treasure without a map. With all the choices out there — all the types of jewelry, plus as all the different materials, gemstones, designs, and colors — it’s almost impossible to find the perfect item, especially if you don’t have a full grasp of your gift recipient’s tastes. So, why not make it easy on yourself for once and buy a piece of jewelry for the person whom you know best?

After all, you enjoy jewelry as much as anyone, and you are just as difficult to shop for. Do you know that feeling, when someone gives you jewelry, and you say to yourself, “This is great, but not exactly what I wanted?” By treating yourself to a jewelry item, for once you can get exactly what you want.

Obviously, when buying yourself jewelry, you can dispense with all of the messages and symbolism that often go along with various items. Instead of carefully considering the meaning and sentiments that each piece of jewelry holds, you can simply search for something that appeals to you. But of course, you don’t have to buy something that is merely pretty. Even self-gifted jewelry items can carry symbolic meaning. It’s all about what most appeals to you.

Some of the most beautiful and pleasing items include diamond and gemstone jewelry. If you are looking for something that will catch the attention of friends and acquaintances, you can’t go wrong with diamond earrings and necklaces. Or, for more colorful options, gemstone earrings and necklaces can be found to perfectly suit your tastes. For example, if green is your favorite color, look for necklaces with emerald pendants. If you like blue, try topaz. If your favorite color is purple, look for amethyst. The options are endless.

The variety of charms and pendants is even greater. If you don’t already have a charm bracelet, they are a great way to keep close at hand items that you find especially beautiful or meaningful. Charms come in all shapes and sizes, incorporating 14k gold, sterling silver, pearls, gemstones, diamonds, or enamel. While some are simple, colorful objects, others come in shapes and designs that represent a huge range of hobbies, interests, and personalities. If you like gardening, hearts, or sports, there are plenty of charms for you. Or, if you’re religious, charms also come in the shapes of a variety of religious symbols. Pendants are the same way, except you’ll likely need a chain necklace or earrings to attach them to.

Meanwhile, there are other, alternative jewelry options. For example, many women have an abundance of jewelry, and no where to keep it all. If this is you, maybe it’s time to purchase a jewelry box. As with jewelry itself, boxes come in an almost overwhelming number of shapes and sizes. Some incorporate gems and diamond into their designs, while others are made in creative shapes, and still others are simple boxes. If you don’t already have a jewelry box, don’t overlook the importance of having a place to keep your jewelry organized.

The best part about shopping for yourself is that one no longer has to enter a jewelry store in order to find the perfect item. Jewelry store clerks are liable to look at you askance when you tell them that you’re shopping for yourself. Fortunately, the Internet now allows for a much more convenient and anonymous jewelry shopping experience. Online jewelry stores contain pages and pages of pictures and descriptions of jewelry of all types, which you can browse at your leisure, and which can be purchased safely and shipped immediately. When shopping for yourself online, the only danger is that you may buy more items than you need. But is that such a bad thing? You love jewelry, so treat yourself.

Lulu Bells Treasures has been offering high quality 14k gold, sterling silver, diamond and gemstone jewelry online since 2003. Visit them at http://www.lulubells.com to view their 14k gold jewelry and gifts. Use coupon code AM0807 for $10 off orders over $150.

Commercial development in Houston is continuing to grow and become a larger part of the Houston economy every year. The Houston area has always been a prime location for real estate and especially commercial real estate. Commercial development is booming, Houston has become a business hub with office complexes and plazas going up all around the area. The biggest reason there is so much development in the Houston area is because there are so many commercial development companies. When there are a bunch of commercial development companies, there are going to be a bunch of commercial buildings.

This is a good thing, by the way. By having all of these different companies and commercial development, Houston makes the competition excellent for people looking to buy or build a commercial building. All of these different companies are out there competing for the best space and bets type of building so that the buyers use them for their purchases instead of the next guy making the buildings perfect. Competition is always good in business because it keeps the vendors on their toes and makes them work for the money instead of just supplying something that people need.

The other good thing about commercial development Houston is the fact that there are so many areas where commercial buildings can be built and designed. The commercial builders in the area are very good at building offices that can hold a bunch of different companies so that more companies can work in the same area and less space is wasted. That is one thing that the commercial developers in Houston are very good at is not wasting space on buildings that is not needed and cannot be used.

WestWay Park is a beautiful office atmosphere in the western part of Houston. This office complex is over 150 acres and holds some of the most prestigious companies in Texas. It is also located in one of the fastest growing commercial development Houston areas, one of the fastest growing in the entire country really. With this area becoming a newly developed office complex, this is prime location for new and established businesses because of the equity that will eventually be built in the complex. This area will become one of the largest business areas in Houston in the coming years.

Interwood Business Park is another excellent commercial development Houston area to rent or buy an office space in Houston. This commercial development in Houston is some of the best commercial development in the entire country. The setting is perfect and the designs of the buildings were made to fit into the scenery of the landscape. It is located on 440 acres and is in the perfect location in Houston being located right next to the airport and highway. There are not very many places that are in such a great position in the city but still have such a beautiful surrounding that makes it feel like they are in the wilderness.

These are just two of the many different places there are available to look at in the commercial development areas of Houston. Many more places like these are continuing to pop up as Houston continues to grow and become one of the United States most impressive commercial development cities. It is a prime location for current business to establish themselves in market that is not fully closed off to new businesses. There are plenty of places to get an office as well that are state of the art buildings that are brand new and do not have any problems that many business owners face when moving into older buildings.

Commercial development in Houston will continue to be on the rise for the next few years and it is a smart decision to make a move into the Houston area for the beautiful offices as well as the equity that will be built in the coming years. With some of the finest minds working together in commercial development, there will be many more buildings rising up that will have state of the art technology and be some of the nicest buildings in the country. The best part of it all is that they are all at an affordable price right now.

The Johnson Development Corp. is a Houston-based residential and commercial land development company that has over 40 years of experience in the real estate development business. For more information visit http://www.johnsondevelopment.com

One of the most common questions I receive: “I’m having pain in my knees and joints. My knees even hurt when I get on the bikes at the gym. Is there a certain exercise that can help in strengthening my knees, or any other advice you can give? Someone said to take fish oil.”

Osteoarthritis, or “wear and tear arthritis”, is actually common at any age, although more common as we get older and remain physically active.

May people suffer joint pain because of the opposite – inactivity. In fact, I believe this is the root cause of most joint issues that have nothing to do with injury. Like anything else, we either use our joints or we loose our joints. Over the years, if you’ve lived a sedentary life, you’ll find that the body shifts its biochemistry to support only what you are requiring it to do.

One of the things I speak about is how the body and mind work together. Unfortunately, this is one of those times when the mind has a mind of it’s own. I’m going to go out on a limb here and voice my enthusiastic opinion on what’s going on. Some doctors will pitch and scream about this, but others back me 100%. I’ll let you decide. Then I’ll give you some great solutions for helping knee and joint pain that’s not being caused by a chronic injury.

First, there’s our old friend calcium. Calcium is touted heavily for conditions such as osteoporosis – however, the media is only giving you one segment of the story. The real culprit here is your hormones. As you age, unless you remain physically active (even more-so than when you were young), the body alters its hormonal production. Thyroid levels and testosterone levels decrease. Low testosterone has been directly linked to problems with bone density. The lower the levels, the more brittle the bone can become.
Enter osteoporosis.

These hormones also cause a drain on the body’s nutrients, including calcium. However, replacing calcium will no more cure the problem in many cases than, say, replacing water from a bucket with a hole in it. You have to plug the hole – and that is best done through hormonal management, dietary shifts, and exercise.

Let’s take thyroid: the Mayo Clinic published an article just last week on the connection between low thyroid and joint problems and muscle pain. I overcame hypothyroidism and the associated joint pain that accompanied it. You can, too. It takes some work, and in some cases some medical intervention, but often thyroid levels can be managed naturally.

A friend of mine, Jackie Lee, at age 72, looks 52 at best – and acts 22. She still tumbles, dances, teaches yoga, competes in figure and even bodybuilding shows – and she’s been hypothyroid for decades. She manages it through a combination of specific amino acids, her lifestyle nutrition plan (she’s a vegetarian; I am not), and of course exercise. Her story is quite inspiring.

Now, since we know that thyroid, testosterone, and other bodily hormones have a lot to do with joint and muscle pain, doesn’t it make sense to start there and work our way outward to a solution? I think so.
Have your hormone levels checked. A few simple blood tests will let your doctor know if you are hypothyroid (be sure to run free and reverse T3/T4 – many doctors only run TSH, which is not adequate) or if you have other hormonal issues. Resolve those first.

Again, and I cannot stress this enough, many hormone issues are resolved naturally through exercise and nutrition. Trust me, as I have ALL of them. My hormones took an early nosedive in my 20s. Even though I require natural hormones to make up for a defective pituitary, my hormone requirements are now less than half of what they were. Through training and eating properly, I have managed to cut my medications in half from the time when I was obese. That’s the power of exercise and nutrition.

Let’s assume that your hormones are fine. What if you’re just having “natural” wear and tear? Well, there are some great places to start before you go diving head-long for the cortisone injections.

First, do consider fish oil. Fish oil (EPA/DHA in the correct ratios, such as in Carlson’s Brand) works wonders for the joints and connective tissues, as well as being one of the healthiest substances you can put in your body. Fish oil has been shown to reduce inflammatory markers related to heart disease, reduce blood pressure, lessen the likelihood of stroke, and even control blood sugar levels. Many Type 2 diabetics have removed themselves (under a doctor’s care) from medication with the help of fish oil, exercise and proper nutrition.

Again, “proper nutrition” is not a one-size-fits-all prescription. If you’re 55 and obese, you do not want to role model a 25-year-old personal trainer whose only fat resides between his ears. Listen to someone who’s been there. That makes for certainty, and certainty is the key to success.

Next, look into a three-supplement “stack” I recommend to some of my clients who really suffer from joint pain: MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane), Glucosamine and Chondroitin. Each works is a slightly different way. Glucosamine has the most amount of medical research behind it, but MSM is deemed as a “miracle cure” for a lot of people. For others, it has limited use – but the ‘stack’ is the best natural approach I’ve found, when combined with fish oil, for relieving joints and muscles from non-injury-related pain.

Dosages vary, but a good start would be:

Glucosamine: 1,000mg per 100 pounds of body weight
Chondroitin: 400mg 2-3x per day
MSM: 1,000mg 2x per day
Fish oil: 2-4 grams per day in liquid form (Carlson’s lemon-flavored fish oil actually tastes good)

Again, be sure to pass these recommendations by your physician.

Last, but not least, move. You may want to start with Yoga, believe it or not. Yoga can relieve joint and muscle pain like you would not believe. I used Yoga stretches when I injured my lower back in 2002, and the healing was remarkable.

Jon Benson is a nutrition and fitness counselor who specializes in weight loss and life coaching. He is the creator of The Fit Over 40 Role Modeling System, and the author of “Fit Over 40″. More information on women’s health is available at http://www.fitover40.com/kw/womens-health.