Don't do it. This holiday season can be your best yet if you approach it with the right mindset. Here are five tips to help facilitate a new perspective:Know the truth: Those self-satisfied married people aren't so satisfied. Hey, most of them are downright miserable. Don't believe me? Look around.

Go into any family restaurant on a Friday evening, and check out all the couples that don't make eye contact. Observe the husbands and wives who speak to the children but not to each other. Go to the mall on a Sunday afternoon and watch the Christmas shoppers. A far cry from what you see in the diamond ads, eh? Be happy that you are not stuck in a dull marriage! Decide that if and when you marry, you'll do it for the right reasons, not because you hit a certain age, your parents were nagging you, you want children, or you want to make your friends feel bad because you bought or received a bigger diamond than they did. Come up with a snappy answer.

When some moron eyes you over the Christmas turkey and asks, "Aren't you ever going to get married?" Just respond, "Why do you ask?" If the inquisitor persists, smile enigmatically and say, "I'm too young to get married." Say this even if you're fifty. If your mother starts piling on the guilt about giving her grandchildren, tell her you hate kids. Suggest that she sponsor an unfortunate child for twenty dollars a month through a worthy charitable organization. Never allow yourself to be drawn into conversations about what it is you do to repel the opposite sex.Walk into every party like a winner. Sit down at every dinner table as if you're the guest of honor.

Be quietly confident. Smile. Walk tall. Sit up straight. Feel good about yourself.

Adorn yourself in clothes that flatter you (women, the poncho may be the rage, but if it makes you look like a sack of onions, put it down; men, avoid wearing baseball caps at all costs). Do not walk into a party hoping that someone will notice you. Walk into a party expecting to be noticed.Be proactive. Instead of waiting around for invitations, host a party of your very own. Give the event a sheen by preparing a trendy drink.

Make an investment and pour it into appropriate glasses. For an elegant effect, start the night by playing Mozart or jazz renditions of holiday classics. Keep the party lively later on by spinning Moby or the latest U2. Be the star you are and dress up. (If you want something more casual, Super Bowl parties are a blast, even for those of us who don't understand football.) Invite singles and couples from work, church, wherever.

The more the merrier, so tell guests to bring a friend. Be sure to ask a married couple or two to prevent the vibe of a singles' mixer, but avoid inviting couples that stand around talking about their children all night.Understand that being single is a good thing. Look, you're not tied down to anybody. Your life is full of possibilities. Every day is an adventure.

You can travel as you like, buy clothes as you like, date as you like. Married people can't. Decide not to give up your freedom until someone truly worthy comes along. This is powerful. When you sit around waiting for the right person to show up, nobody will.

But once you decide to enjoy your life, often somebody wonderful and worthy will appear?and much sooner than you expect..

The previous forum was discontinued in service as the company hosting no longer offered the service. It had over 1200 members registered. Quite a few of the members who post regularly have already won a contest or two, and tune into the site daily in hopes of seeing an answer to a giveaway question or some other hint to help their winning chances for the Christmas giveaway.Rod also commented "I hope this giveaway is guided to touch someone who's in need of this clothing. Possibly change their outlook in life and give them a feeling of confidence, taking them away from a negative situation or environment they might be in. I think Urb1 is an outlet of transferring kids attention from a negative life into something legitimate, whether it is Hiphop music or Hiphop fashion.

At the same time breaking new clothing lines into new areas and markets. There's 2 key things here; gratitude and promotion through the attention these kids will get from envious friends, schoolmates, or people who see what they have on and want it. Not only are the kids getting a good deal, but I"m helping already built Hiphop entrepreneurs get their name out to a wider audience. But mainly, it's about the kid and giving a wider smile on the holidays to somebody who appreciates Hiphop culture."The designers donating articles of clothing to the Urb1 Christmas Giveaway winners are mostly underground designers, as Urb1.com labels them. Five Four, Rohaun Designs, Young Truth the Shoe Artist, Zebra83, Super Sexy Clothing, Legendary Game, Jajuan Michael, Infinite Styles, Akahpellah, and Well Connected Gear are amongst the actual clothing lines expected to participate in this year's giveaway.

Other participants include retailers and accessory designers. Accessories such as hats, bags, and more will be coming from New Era caps, Atlantic Records, and NexLyne Incorporated. Urban Exclusives, Sneaker Lane, and a 'mystery' retailer will be amongst those donating clothing of the winner's choice. Over 5,000 are expected to enter the contest in less than 1 month. Entries will be accepted until December 20th.

The winners will have their products shipped to them between December 28th and 30th.All those interested can join in on Urb1's holiday festivity by logging into the website: http://www.urb1.com.

I was curious about what came out of her mind and had this idea as a good subject. It's truly creative, in a way, even if the photo is not that perfectly taken. With this picture, I also agree with Mike that his niece definitely understands what she's doing. What she did was to go out of her way and find subjects that didn't only look interesting but pointed to an understanding that she was creating something. Quite impressive, right?Indeed, if the joy of sharing photos online is all about capturing the random everyday events in our lives, then even a photo taken by a four year old or even younger must be pure gold.

After all, this young, creative mind has her own definition and interpretation of art that only she can comprehend..

"This may seem high, but a score of 98% means that a site is not available for half an hour per day. This makes 14 hours a month, or a week a year", says Mark Pors, one of the founders of WatchMouse.As a comparison to the US market, two "role models of e-commerce" - amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com - were monitored during the same period. Amazon performed similar as an average European web shop, Barns & Noble outperformed most e-commerce sites with an uptime of 100%.As a comparison to the US market, two "role models of e-commerce" - amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com - were monitored during the same period. Amazon's performance was similar to that of the average European web shop, whereas Barnes & Noble outperformed most e-commerce sites with an uptime of 100%.The consequences of downtime are reflected not only in loss of income. Pors: "A website that is not available can cause stacks of work for your helpdesk and, at the end of the day, damage your brand.

The problem is that many website owners are unaware that sites are responding poorly, or not responding at all. If they were aware of this, taking action to intervene is simplicity itself: for example, by adding extra server capacity."WatchMouse has concluded from its survey that more than 70% of the web sites have not achieved optimum accessibility. Given the increasing trend in online purchases, gigantic sums are involved: Online sales will increase by 44% to ?13 billion ($17 billion) in Western Europe over the holidays period, compared to ?10 billion ($13 billion) in the US (Forrester Research, November 2004).December is a top month for purchasing on the internet. Pors: "We see response times and the number of error reports increase dramatically in the days leading up to Christmas."About WatchMouseCompanies can easily monitor their internet sites themselves, thanks to WatchMouse's monitoring service. WatchMouse has been monitoring internet sites and e-commerce applications for companies across the globe since 2001.

WatchMouse has thousands of customers in more than 70 countries. WatchMouse services are available in seven languages, and analyses are carried out through the world-wide monitoring network from a range of locations and networks.More information: http://www.watchmouse.com/.

I go out for breakfast and talk to people."Another talented writer, Leslie Lafayette, dealt with being a childless woman by choice in WHY DON'T YOU HAVE KIDS?: Living a Full Life Without Parenthood. You can bet that because of her choice many people would pity her. She writes the "Alone Again, Naturally" column for the outstanding magazine THE DESERT WOMAN. Observers might conclude she's miserable on the holidays.Both Leslie and Dessa have full lives and radiate Christmas cheer, not just in December but all year round. While we all need human contact, it's a mistake to conclude that people without the traditional family dinner are all on suicide watch.

Anyone who has negotiated where to have Christmas and which family members can come when, not to mention refereed in-law and spouse disputes, knows that the allure of having a table for one at Christmas is powerful.However, when people aren't alone by choice, Christmas can be lonely. In Michigan, I interviewed a woman, the founder of a divorced and widowed support group, who chose to have Christmas dinner every year for lonely widows, widowers and divorced people, usually from her support group. Her children understood that she needed to start this new tradition in her new life.Similarly, having children around, even with the relentless gimmes and commercialism, lends a special magic to Christmas, which is why playing Santa appeals to so many.The holidays can be joyous if you're alone, or they can be difficult. As with so much, your feelings depend on your personality, your circumstances, your childhood, and in many cases on medical or psychological conditions.Some tips to remember if you're alone or without your support system:

• Take advantage of counseling services in your community, including from your local church, synagogue, temple or other place of worship.
• Take time out for spirituality. You might attend services just to experience human contact and community.

  People are generally nicer at Christmas.

• Do all the things you wanted to do but couldn't in your former life. Travel. Even in this post-9/11 world, you can visit faraway places. There are many tour groups for singles.
• Attend art walks, holiday concerts, lectures, and movie screenings alone. Or invite a friend you haven't talked to in a while.
• Volunteer?it's a wonderful way to make friends, stay active, and feel fulfilled.
• Go out to dinner alone! While women in particular feel uncomfortable, project an air of confidence.

  You are a strong, vital woman. This doesn't mean that you should go bar-hopping or take risks alone at night. But you have the right to ask for a table for one without feeling as though people are judging you. (Most people are too preoccupied with their own lives to notice.)

• Gather a circle of friends or people in the same situation?just make sure the evening doesn't turn into a pity party.
• Don't overdrink, overeat or do drugs. It's just not a good tradition.
• Bake cookies if you're so inclined.

  Cookies make wonderful Christmas presents and ways to reconnect with your friends.

You unwrapped the pretty red bow and tore through the shiny paper on that present from your Uncle Mortie, and immediately, you had to put on your best poker face.How did you know I needed a sushi roller kit?" you exclaimed with as much excitement as you could muster through gritted teeth.The problem is you don't eat fish sticks, let alone raw salmon.You can't be too sore at poor Uncle Mortie, though, and the other friends and family who gave you unwanted holiday gifts this season. Buying Christmas gifts is difficult work. Then again, getting rid of a doosie of a Christmas gift is no piece of fruitcake either. That is, unless you know how to use the Internet to return your unwanted gifts from the comfort of your own home or, better yet, sell them for better use.You're probably wondering how it's possible to sell off Santa's slip-ups when you feel bad enough returning them. In most cases, your friends or loved one invested time and money into shopping for your gift.

They browsed countless Web pages. They trudged through the mall. And they were sentenced to hard time in the cashier line. All of it they did to please you.At the same time, however, your friends or loved one couldn't read your mind as Jolly Old Saint Nick supposedly can. They could never tell if you'd appreciate that coffee table book on coffee tables, or that matching set of plaid socks and necktie.

They could only guess at your inseam or your blouse size, or whether you look best in blue or black. And they had no way of telling that your third cousin on your father's side got you the same exact gift. With no list of who was naughty and who was nice, Uncle Mortie and company added to the millions wasted worldwide. This waste doesn't have to be. Your loved ones only wanted to make you happy with their presents.

So it stands to reason that if their gift didn't do the trick-because it was the wrong size, a duplicate present, or completely off the mark-they would want you to fix the situation. Whatever it takes, they would want you to be happy, right?That leaves you with two options. You could return the gift to the mega store or the maul-er, mall. You would join the thousands of your neighbors with the same idea, all of whom are cramming into your local stores and cash register lines to return their unwanted gifts. Then you would also have to face the thousands of bargain shoppers out there looking for those post-Christmas specials, a rush that lasts well through January.What's worse, some stores won't let you return goods if you don't have the original credit card or receipt.

That means you could at best be left with gift cards with expiration dates at stores that you may not like. At worst, you could be stuck with your gift, not knowing what to do with it. Now you're seeing the light. No, it's not the light from the inflatable 12-foot Santa Claus and reindeer on your neighbor's front lawn. It's the light from your computer monitor: the Internet.

Today's Web can link you with someone who will think Uncle Mortie's gift is a precious treasure. This person, whether they're in Peoria or Pawtucket, North Carolina or the North Pole, is willing to pay good money for it.Classified Internet sites can link you to this person faster than it would take you to stow the sushi set up in your attic. The best classified sites out there will also be free of transaction and membership fees. What's more, they allow you to negotiate price directly with your buyer and plan shipping arrangements, all with privacy and precision in mind.You'll end up with cash to buy that special something you really wanted. Your buyer will be pleased with Uncle Mortie's gift.

Uncle Mortie, well, he'll be glad the gift he gave you, doesn't just sit in the attic..

I realized I wasn't telling the recipients how to care for the present I chose to put so much time and money into. The solution was to write what I have titled ?The Anatomy of a Quilt'?. I see my quilts as love filled works of art. The down side of giving a quilt away is you never know if it will receive the respect it deserves or end up being used in a dog bed. My hope is the cards will put an end to that fear for me as well as all other quilters." Sue works at Patricias' Fabric House in East Rochester, NY, plus she has her own sewing studio where she makes quilts for herself and others.

Her specialty is t-shirt quilts. She tells, "It's a creative process planning the color and shape layout of the t-shirt emblems in order to turn them into an eye-pleasing mosaic of personal memories. It is very rewarding to see anywhere from 16 to 35 t-shirts become a snuggly quilt. I have made them as high school graduation gifts and also as memorials. The memorials are most special as they are a true aid in the grieving process for the person who commissions them." Lots of quilters have closets full of 100% cotton fabric they just had to have because they liked it.

Sue has very little fabric in her "stash" because when she buys it she uses it. She says fabric "talks" to her begging to be used in a new project. The quilts she gives away are ones she makes because there is always some quilt design she hasn't tried yet, therefore the recipient gets no say as to color or pattern. "Of course if it's a commission piece, we discuss the options and the purchaser is the boss," she remarks. Patti Carey, marketing coordinator for Northcott Fabrics says, "People just don't make quilts for themselves; they may keep one, but the rest are quilts they're giving to people." Sue adds, "why not accompany the quilt with an educational gift card you can personalize so it looks like you made that as well."For more information visit www.quiltcardsetc.com ..

. . And so St. Customer bought out everything in the store. His crew loaded it up and .

. . He sprang to his truck, to his crew gave a whistle,And away they all flew like the down of a thistle;But they heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"__________________________________________About the Author: is a Contributing Editor for ProGardenBiz Magazine,an online magazine for professional gardeners and landscapecontractors. Visit ProGardenBiz to find out how you can get a free subscription, start-up guidance, business ideas andinspiration at http://www.progardenbiz.com.__________________________________________You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included.Must be published complete with no changes. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated..

Ask your veterinarian if it's recommended to give your pet a mild sedative, be sure to ask for the correct dose depending on the pet's weight. There are natural remedies to cope with stress for pets you should consider those too.2. Keep your pet in a room in which he/she feels safe. Put there his/her bed, fresh water, food and make sure the room has proper ventilation, but that the pet is not capable to escape.3. If you have to leave your pet outside, check all fences for loose parts or openings and fix them in order to prevent your pet from escaping through them.4.

Keep your vet's phone number at hand in case of an emergency.5. Make sure your pet wears his/her collar with ID tag at all times, and that the contact information in the tag is updated.6. Keep a recent and clear photo of your pet available, in the event of your pet getting lost, you can make flyers and post them everywhere. Remember that a frightened pet can run long distances so he/she may end up far from home and don't know his/her way back. Send the photo to your local paper too, they must have a missing pets section and it can reach more people than the flyers.Remember this is only the beginning, later comes, Christmas, New Year, 4th of July? Keep these precautions at hand and your pet will do fine..

"Two days before the end of the rental period I phoned him to arrange the scheduled pickup time and I got an answering machine. I left the information to return it. Then on Dec. 29 I got a phone call from the person whose name it was rented to asking what was a Segway and why was there a charge for a weekly rental?"The true owner of the credit card turned out to be a resident of North Carolina."We realized we had rented a Segway on a stolen credit card and shipped it to New Jersey," Steinberg said. "We went to Google and typed in all the names, telephone numbers and addresses we had for the transaction and it came up with a small list of clues to finding the missing Segway.

We then called the Teaneck, N.J. Police Department and were put in contact with Detective Sgt. Michael Falvey, who seemed really interested in following up on it."According to Steinberg, the detective first visited the residence where the Segway had been shipped, but a woman at the home said the package was not addressed to her and she had returned it to the shipping company. However, the shipping company had no record of any package being returned from that address."At that point, Steve gave us the contract he faxes out and we tracked that number to a doctor's office in Hackensack," Detective Falvey explained. "The person we talked with the night before at the home was same person who worked at the doctor's office.

We called the doctor and she finally volunteered to come in. She partially admitted that her boyfriend at that time had delivered a box but she claimed she didn't know what was in it. She gave us the name of the boyfriend, we picked him up and he admitted to it. He said he used to work at a mail-order electronics store and that's where he'd stolen the credit card number from. He said he had always wanted to try a Segway."Falvey said he now wants to hire Steinberg as a detective with the force because of his diligence in tracking down his missing Segway."We were very pleased with his detective skills," Falvey said.

"He really did an excellent job. He had information anytime we called him and he was outstanding."In an attempt to minimize the problems, the couple quickly sent the Segway rental back to the Segway of Oakland office at 212 International Blvd."We were a little disappointed we didn't get the Segway here because we wanted to try it out," Falvey added.The couple was charged with fraudulent use of a credit card, theft of a Segway and lying to detectives investigating the case."We've sent a bill for three weeks rental?to the correct guy this time," Steinberg added. "We want to thank Detective Michael Falvey and the Teaneck Police Department, Google and the sloppy work of the credit-card thief."The Segway HT (Human Transporter) is the first of its kind anywhere in the world. The high-tech machine is a self-balancing personal transportation device designed to go anywhere and do just about anything. It provides the user with the ability to move faster and carry along more weight, allowing you to commute to work, run errands and shop more efficiently while also making these otherwise mundane chores fun again! The Segway is in use by progressive cities like Seattle and Spokane, by companies like Disney, Google, Remax Realty and Thrifty Car Rental, and by a wide array of others including the U.S.

Army, Navy and Air Force, the U.S. Postal Service and the nonprofit Big Brothers, Big Sisters. www.segwayofoakland.com.