Archive | July 2013

Dukan diet

Actors, singers, models have followed Dukan diet with great success and lost weight.

Birth and adoptive families

Article source: http://tanialegaki.wordpress.com/2012/11/04/birth-and-adoptive-families/

Birth Parents, Adoptees and Adoptive Parents are known as the adoption triad. For journalists, it is often difficult to know how to describe the members of that so called “The adoption triad”
An adopted person’s parents (those who are raising the child) are simply their father, mother or parents. Using terms such as “real” or “natural” parents, suggests that the adoptive parents or their parental status are somehow unreal or unnatural. Stories should not portray adoptive parents as unusually selfless or saintly. People adopt because they simply want to have a family.
There is much debate over what families of origin should be called. The man and woman who conceived the child can be referred to as the birth, genetic or biological parents. Those considering an adoption plan should never be referred to as birth parents until they have relinquished their parental rights. They should be called simply parents or expectant parents. Some birth parents reject the term birth parent completely in favor of biological parent. Others prefer “original” or “first” mother. Legal language frequently describes birth parents as the “natural” parents, but that is a holdover from a bygone era and is best left to legal venues.
Language is also colored by the experience of the speaker. For instance, birth parents use “surrender,” because that is how they feel about what happened to them. On the other hand many triad members continue to use outdated adoption language when being interviewed. For instance, a story in The New York Times in May 2003 about a man who met his birth family, referred to them as his natural parents. While the references were part of a quote and, therefore could not be changed, it remains important to use constructive language.

Mykonos party

Article source: http://fotistheodorou.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/mykonos-party/

Mykonos is the center of PubClub destinations, a place where the afternoon scene exceeds the nightlife at many other destinations, where nights roll effortlessly into daybreak and where meeting people is as easy as seeing them.
It’s nightlife is so active and the people so friendly, it’s impossible not to become intoxicated from its lively atmosphere and, oh yes, the endless amounts of alcohol.
Beach-lovers and super-budget travelers should consider Paradise Beach. It’s sparse but livable, right on the sand (8 Euros a day in summer). It’s a bit inconvenient for the in-town revelry but buses run until 4:30 a.m. (1 Euro). The bars at the beach also are holding more night parties to not only keep the backpackers at the beach but also to pull people from town. Clearly-marked vans provide transport from the ferry and airport.
Finding social activities on Mykonos is as easy as going to the beach. In fact, that’s the place to start. The revelry starts late afternoon and goes until you decided to call it quits. It’s not quite morning, noon and night, but more like afternoon, night and morning.

Paradise-beach-party Paradise-beach-party2Mykonos-party myconos party 2

Paradise Beach is both a quiet, sleepy patch of sand and water and a seaside fraternity party. It has a pair of restaurants (go to the cafeteria because the fruit is refreshing, the Greek salad is fresh from a garden and the chicken soulvaki is very tasty), grainy sand, a few small thatched trees providing shade and topless bathers stretched out on rented lawn chairs (2.5 Euros).
About once a month in the summer, Paradise Beach hosts a Full Moon Party at night. Blow off all other forms of nightlife for this beachside bash. The other almost-nightly beach parties make a nice change of pace from the town; it’s basically the same beach party under the stars. Look for flyers around town for information.
Late at night at Mykonos
Mykonos – and all of Greece – is thankfully incredibly safe and free of crime. However, Mykonos can present challenges to small groups of girls in the wee hours.

myconos party 1  myconos party 3

One of the fun things about Mykonos is the never-ending party where all of a sudden it’s 5, 6 or even 8 in the morning. But this can also pose problems for inebriated girls walking through town. On weekends, Greek males come in from Athens and other places and pray upon what they perceive are easy pick-up targets. And the drunker, the easier, they believe. They are as persistent as flies at a picnic and try and take girls to “private parties” or a late club. In Hawaii, these people are known as “mokes,”which means the punks on the outer islands. So ladies, use your common sense, keep some wits about you and be forceful. Eventually, they will give up the chase, like a lion giving up on a gazelle.

What are Funeral Insurance Plans?

Article source: http://margaritalagoutari.wordpress.com/2012/11/16/what-are-funeral-insurance-plans/

Funeral insurance plans are a form of insurance that provides for funeral expenses at the time of death. These plans are becoming increasingly popular with people of all incomes, partially because of the rising cost of funerals.  The average funeral costs more than $7,700, and that is a lot of money for many families. Even families that can easily shoulder the financial burden of a funeral may not wish to think about money right after the death of a loved one. Funeral insurance plans make it possible for families to take care of all the expenses of a funeral in advance — which can be a huge relief for many families.

The Two Types of Funeral Insurance Plans

There are two general types of funeral insurance plans: Final expense insurance and preneed funeral insurance. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Which type of plan is best for you depends on your income and goals.

Final Expense Insurance

Final expense insurance is a form of life insurance. One of the key differences is that final expense insurance policies have a much lower face value and are intended to be used only to cover funeral and other end-of-life expenses. A typical face value for a final expense insurance policy can be anywhere between $5,000 to $50,000 dollars.  No medical exams of any kind are required to sign up for a final expense insurance policy. All you have to do is determine what insurance company you want to buy a policy from, what face value you want, and what kind of premiums you are willing to pay.

Preneed Funeral Insurance

Preneed funeral insurance policies are less flexible than final expense insurance policies, but they may enable you to save more money.  With preneed funeral insurance, you pick out exactly what funeral home and burial services you want to choose. This enables you to “lock in” a certain funeral price.(Rapidly rising funeral expenses explain why this is such an advantage.)  You then pay for the services you want in advance by paying one large premium or several smaller ones spread out through time. The choice is yours and depends largely on your budget and future plans.

Understanding the Difference Between Prepaid Funeral Plans and Funeral Insurance Policies

Prepaid funeral plans are often confused with funeral insurance policies, but they are not the same thing. Prepaid funeral plans are usually arranged with funeral home directors. They are not arranged with insurance companies.  Because of this, they tend to be less reliable than funeral insurance policies. The prepaid funeral plan industry has more than its fair share of fraud, and you should be cautious about buying a prepaid funeral plan. Although the plans appeal to people because they are easier to buy than funeral insurance policies, caution is advised.  That isn’t to say that all prepaid funeral plans are worthless. It just means you have to carefully analyze the reputation of the funeral home you are considering buying a prepaid funeral plan from. Only work with funeral homes with excellent reputations, and you can minimize your risk.

What Should I be Concerned About?

The biggest concern with funeral insurance plans is deciding whether or not you really feel comfortable getting a funeral insurance policy for yourself or a loved one. While this may sound silly, a lot of people do not feel emotionally comfortable selecting funeral insurance plans for loved ones or themselves.  To help yourself get over this emotional block, try talking with close family members about the future and their plans. Try to get support from family members to help you make some of the difficult decisions you need to make with respect to funeral insurance plans.

What Laws Protect Me?

The laws that protect you vary substantially by state, but federally, there is a law called the Funeral Rule enforced by the Federal Trade Commission. This law protects users of funeral home services in many ways, but one of its biggest advantages for consumers is that it requires funeral homes to give prospective buyers itemized prices and accurate information on funeral services. (This helps eliminate some of the fraud in the industry.)

The Overall Importance of Funeral Insurance Plans

It can be really easy to get lost in all the details of funeral insurance plans and forget about the main reason for the plans: Making life easier for loved ones.
Funerals are enormously stressful for families. Even when the death of a family member has been anticipated for a long period of time, there is always a lot of suffering when a loved one dies.
To add insult to injury, funerals are usually almost as expensive as they are emotionally draining. Family members often have to worry about money during a time when they are grieving. This can make an already difficult period of time for families become positively traumatic.
In the event your loved ones do not have the cash for a funeral, they may have to go into debt to finance your funeral. This means that a lot of long-term financial suffering can be instigated by expensive funerals.
The right kind of insurance can spare your loved ones a lot of suffering in the event of your death. Wouldn’t you rather they not have to worry about financial considerations when you pass away? Wouldn’t you rather they only focus on their memories of you after you have died?
While it is true that some individuals use the proceeds from life insurance to cover funeral expenses, there are disadvantages to this approach. Unlike most funeral insurance plans, life insurance policies pay out their benefits over time. A life insurance policy may not be able to provide enough cash soon enough to completely finance funeral expenses.
Funeral insurance policies pay out soon after death, meaning that there is little lag time involved in receiving the money. This makes life easy for family members and prevents a lot of other financial problems from developing. There are few ways to help smooth the process of having a funeral as much as purchasing a good funeral insurance policy in advance.